National Assembly Seeks Chey Taewon's Testimony to Hear SKT's Stance on Penalty Waiver

Vote on Proposal to Summon Chey Taewon as Witness at National Assembly Hearing at 3:30 p.m. on April 30

The National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee will put to a vote on the afternoon of April 30 a proposal requiring SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to appear as a witness at the hearing on the SKT USIM hacking incident. The committee is demanding Chairman Chey's attendance at the National Assembly after Yoo Youngsang, CEO of SKT, failed to give a definite answer regarding the waiver of penalties for contract termination during the hearing.

Choi Minhee, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and chairperson of the committee, stated at the hearing, "At 3:30 p.m., we will vote on summoning Chairman Chey as a witness," and criticized, "Both CEO Yoo and Kang Dohyun, Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT, have acknowledged SKT's responsibility, so where did this anti-principle idea of refusing to waive the penalty come from?"

On this day, lawmakers urged that if SKT subscribers terminate their service following the hacking incident, the penalty should be waived on the grounds of 'contract termination due to the company's fault.' However, CEO Yoo responded, "We will review the matter comprehensively," and did not commit to waiving the penalty.

Kang Dohyun, Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT, commented on the penalty waiver, saying, "We will review the matter clearly from a legal perspective without considering any specific company," and added, "We will examine it in parallel depending on the handling of the incident and the results of the subsequent investigation."

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group (Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry) is giving a lecture at the inauguration ceremony of the National Assembly Future Industry Forum held at Sarangjae, National Assembly, Yeouido, Seoul on the 22nd. Photo by Kim Hyunmin