From Today, SK Telecom Begins Phased Shutdown of 2G... Users File "Supreme Court Appeal and Unconstitutionality Lawsuit"

[Asia Economy Reporter Joselgina] SK Telecom, which announced the termination of 2G mobile communication services, began the full-scale process on the 6th. With this, the '011 era' disappeared into history after 25 years. However, '01X' users who have used SK Telecom's 2G services such as 011 and 017 are strongly opposing by filing injunctions demanding suspension of service termination along with appeals to the Supreme Court.

According to the industry on the 6th, SK Telecom will sequentially terminate 2G services starting from areas with severe equipment aging such as provinces (do) → metropolitan cities → metropolitan area → Seoul. First, from this day, 2G services will be suspended in Gangwon-do, Gyeongsang-do, Sejong Special Self-Governing City, Jeolla-do, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, and Chungcheong-do. Then, on the 13th, 2G services will end in metropolitan cities such as Busan, Ulsan, Daegu, Daejeon, and Gwangju, on the 20th in the metropolitan area including Gyeonggi and Incheon, and on the 27th in Seoul.

This is based on the judgment that terminating the service all at once could cause confusion. In particular, a user protection period is set for each stage, requiring 7 days to pass in each region before moving on to the next. The Ministry of Science and ICT conditionally approved SK Telecom's application to terminate 2G services last month, stating that due to network aging causing frequent failures and shortage of some spare parts, it is difficult to continue operating the 2G network. As of June 1, SK Telecom's 2G service users total about 384,000, which is 1.21% of total subscribers.

However, user opposition continues. Existing 011 and 017 number users can temporarily use their numbers until June next year. To use SK Telecom's mobile services, users must switch to 3G, LTE, or 5G.

In this regard, the 010 Integration Opposition Movement Headquarters announced earlier this month a statement titled 'Attempting the Last Flutter of 01X Users Who May Be Facing Their Final Day,' declaring plans to appeal to the Supreme Court and file an unconstitutional lawsuit within this week.

The 010 Integration Opposition Movement Headquarters said, "Although two dismissal rulings have already been received from the courts, we will appeal to the Supreme Court with the determination that this is the last chance to raise awareness of the illegality and unconstitutionality of the number integration policy," adding, "Along with the Supreme Court appeal, we plan to simultaneously file an unconstitutional claim." They further stated, "Appeals to the law have reached their limit," and "Physical actions by 01X users will also proceed."

Previously, in May last year, the 010 Integration Opposition Movement Headquarters filed a civil lawsuit against SK Telecom demanding to continue using the 01X numbers as they are. The court ruled against the plaintiff in both the first trial and the appeal trial.