[Exclusive] SKT Launches 4 'Mid-Tier Plans Season 2'... 62,000~68,000 KRW

'DIY Plans' Tailored to Actual Usage
Senior and Youth Plans Also Available
Diversifying Plans to Ease Household Communication Costs

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] SK Telecom is launching four new mid-tier 5G plans. The plans are segmented within the 40?100GB range, allowing customers to choose according to their actual usage. Senior and youth plans will also be introduced to promote an overall reduction in household communication expenses.

On the 21st, a government official announced that SK Telecom is preparing to launch four new mid-tier 5G plans.

SKT Tower exterior.
[Photo by SK Telecom]

The plans SK Telecom is releasing this time are divided into 3,000 KRW, 5,000 KRW, 7,000 KRW, and 9,000 KRW tiers. They are based on the existing mid-tier plan (24GB for 59,000 KRW), with additional fees and data added for each tier. For example, the 7,000 KRW plan offers 50GB per month, which means adding 7,000 KRW and 50GB to the existing mid-tier plan, resulting in a monthly fee of 66,000 KRW for 74GB. By diversifying plans, customers can pay according to their actual usage.

SK Telecom is a reserved reporting operator, and the new mid-tier plans are expected to be launched around April after review by the Terms of Service Review Advisory Committee. With SK Telecom launching these new mid-tier plans, KT and LG Uplus are also expected to follow with similar plans.

Since the commercialization of 5G, the issue of polarization in communication fees has been continuously raised. There are only inexpensive plans offering small amounts of data to encourage subscriptions to high-priced plans, and expensive plans offering large amounts of data. There is a lack of mid-tier plans corresponding to the average usage of subscribers. In response to these criticisms, SK Telecom launched a mid-tier plan last August offering 24GB for 59,000 KRW per month.

However, there remains a large gap with the higher-tier plan (110GB for 69,000 KRW), and the data amount is insufficient compared to the average monthly data usage (26?27GB), failing to reflect consumers’ actual demand. The government announced at the 13th Emergency Economic and Livelihood Meeting that mid-tier plans within the 40?100GB range will be launched within the first half of the year, and senior plans will be strengthened to reduce household communication expenses.

Along with the mid-tier plans, SK Telecom will launch senior and youth plans. Among the three major telecom companies, only LG Uplus currently operates a senior plan offering 8GB for 45,000 KRW per month. SK Telecom will introduce a senior plan priced 2,000 KRW cheaper at 43,000 KRW. Additionally, a youth plan is being prepared that offers more data than general plans at the same price, catering to the consumption habits of younger generations who use more data.