15 Minutes Required Per Person for SIM Card Replacement
SKT: "5 Million Additional SIM Cards to Be Secured by Next Month"
SIM Protection Service Enrollment Recommended First
Blocks Activation of Other Devices
SKT: "We Will Take Full Responsibility for Any Damages"
Airport Roaming Centers Crowded
Arrivals Rushing to Replace SIM Cards Immediately
SK Telecom began SIM card replacements for its subscribers on the 28th, but it is expected to take at least six months to replace the SIM cards of all 25 million subscribers, including 1.87 million MVNO users. This is because, even with all available personnel dedicated to SIM card replacements, only about 150,000 SIM cards can be replaced per day.
An industry official stated, "It takes about 15 minutes to replace a SIM card for each subscriber," and added, "Given this time frame, SKT can replace about 150,000 SIM cards per day." When divided by SKT's total number of subscribers, the arithmetic time required is 167 days. Taking into account weekends and holidays, the time needed to replace all SIM cards would easily exceed six months. The number of SIM cards SKT has secured is also limited. SKT announced, "We currently have about 1 million SIM cards in stock and plan to secure an additional 5 million SIM cards by the end of next month."
SIM Protection Service Enrollment First
As the "SIM crisis" became a reality, SKT began recommending that customers enroll in the SIM Protection Service, which provides the same level of personal information protection as a SIM card replacement, before proceeding with the actual replacement. The SIM Protection Service immediately blocks any attempt to activate a different mobile device or make unauthorized payments using an illegally cloned SIM card. The company explains that this is equivalent to replacing the SIM card. This is also why SKT previously released a statement saying, "You can trust the SIM Protection Service to prevent hacking damage. If any damage occurs, SKT will take 100% responsibility."
As of 6 p.m. on the 27th, a total of 5.54 million SKT users had enrolled in this service, accounting for 24% of the total subscriber base of about 23 million.
Kim Seungjoo, professor at Korea University's Graduate School of Information Security, explained, "Considering the information that is currently known to have been leaked, it is possible to sufficiently protect personal information with only the SIM Protection Service, without needing to replace the SIM card."
Airports Crowded with Arrivals Rushing to Replace SIM Cards
Even after 8 p.m. on the 27th, about 40 subscribers were waiting in front of the SKT Roaming Center in the international terminal of Gimpo Airport to replace their SIM cards. (Photo by Park Yujin)
However, once enrolled in the SIM Protection Service, international roaming is not possible. For this reason, many subscribers flocked to airports to replace their SIM cards. Even after 8 p.m. on the 27th, about 40 subscribers were waiting in front of the SKT Roaming Center in the international terminal building of Gimpo Airport to replace their SIM cards. Kim Jisoo (38), who came to replace her SIM card immediately after returning from a trip to Tokyo, Japan, said, "I heard that SIM card replacements were available at the Roaming Center, so I rushed here as soon as I picked up my luggage. All three of my family members use SKT, so we all replaced our SIM cards."
Flight attendant Han Daae (27) also said, "I have already replaced mine, but my family hasn't been able to change theirs yet. I have another flight tomorrow, so I came to check if I could reserve two SIM cards." SKT is currently working to upgrade the service so that the SIM Protection Service can be used during international roaming starting in May.
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