Long Lines Form in Front of Agencies... Queue Tickets Distributed
Reservation System Delayed Due to Overwhelming Traffic
Subscribers Launch Petition to the National Assembly
On April 28, SK Telecom officially began offering free SIM card replacements to its 25 million subscribers, including those using budget mobile services. However, as subscribers rushed to agencies nationwide to replace their SIM cards, long lines formed, and SKT's online reservation system for SIM card replacement was overwhelmed by demand and became paralyzed. Although SKT CEO Yoo Youngsang had previously announced that all SIM cards would be replaced free of charge, the on-site response has been far from smooth.
At around 9 a.m., 30 minutes before opening, more than 100 people had already gathered in front of the SK Telecom agency in Mugyo-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, forming a long line. Agency staff opened the store earlier than usual and handed out queue tickets to customers waiting in line, informing them of the expected wait times.
On the 28th, customers visiting an official SK Telecom certified agency in Mapo-gu, Seoul, are receiving guidance from staff regarding SIM card arrivals. SK Telecom plans to offer free SIM card replacement services to subscribers starting today. April 28, 2025. Photo by Kang Jinhyung
On the 28th, customers visiting an official SK Telecom certified agency in Mapo-gu, Seoul, are waiting to replace their SIM cards and receiving queue numbers from staff. SK Telecom plans to offer free SIM card replacement services to subscribers starting today. April 28, 2025. Photo by Kang Jinhyung
Lee Misook, a 61-year-old office worker who visited the store right after arriving at her nearby workplace, said, "I came to this store last Friday, but was told there was no SIM card stock, so I made a reservation in person and came back to pick it up." She added, "Since I'm older, I'm not very familiar with mobile phones, so I prefer to come to the store directly. All of my office colleagues have also replaced their SIM cards."
Shin Incheol, a 42-year-old office worker, said, "I've always thought that personal information like my resident registration number had already been leaked, but the leak of SIM card information is more serious because it could lead to the creation of cloned phones. That's why I came to replace it immediately." Another office worker, Kim Sungsoo, 39, said, "As soon as I heard about the hacking incident, I reduced all my bank transfer limits," and added, "These days, everything can be done on your phone, from payments to everything else, so it's honestly unsettling."
SKT anticipated a surge in SIM card replacement requests and launched the 'Free SIM Card Replacement Online Reservation System' that day, but long virtual queues persisted throughout the morning. As of 10:30 a.m., the number of people in the queue had reached 92,000. In a customer announcement made the previous day, SKT stated, "To prevent cyber intrusion damage, we will provide free SIM card replacements at over 2,600 T World stores nationwide for customers who wish to do so, starting at 10 a.m. on the 28th. We will also accept online reservation applications."
As customer access for reservation applications surged, the customer service app also became paralyzed. On this day, anyone trying to access the T World application in the morning was met with an error message saying, "There are currently many app users. Please use the T World mobile web." Even when accessing via the mobile web, a notice appeared stating, "There are currently too many users, so access is delayed."
A scene showing a waiting notice as users flock to SK Telecom's 'Free USIM Replacement Reservation System'.
In response to the hacking attack that resulted in the theft of subscriber SIM (USIM) information, SKT subscribers have launched the 'SKT SIM Hacking Joint Response Official Website' and have started a petition for public consent in the National Assembly. The site operators sent an email to media outlets stating, "The leaked information could lead to significant secondary damage in various financial and social networking services (SNS) that use mobile phone number authentication, but SK Telecom's response has been extremely inadequate." They also argued, "The exact scope and scale of the damage have not been properly disclosed, which is amplifying users' anxiety and confusion."
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