'USIM Hacking' SKT Enters Highest Level of Emergency Management... "Greatest Crisis Since Founding"

Entering the Highest Level of Emergency Management
All Executives Encouraged to Report to Work at 7 a.m., Including Weekends
Company-wide Emergency Management Task Force Under CEO Activated
On-site Support for USIM Replacement Strengthened

SK Telecom (SKT), which has been plunged into an unprecedented crisis due to a large-scale hacking of subscriber USIM (Universal Subscriber Identity Module) information, has entered the highest level of emergency management. During this period, SKT will establish a situation room and encourage all executives to report to work by 7 a.m. every day, including weekends.

According to the telecommunications industry and SKT on May 3, CEO Yoo Youngsang of SKT posted a notice on the company bulletin board the previous afternoon stating, "We will raise the emergency management system to the highest level."

On the 28th, customers visiting an official SK Telecom certified agency in Jung-gu, Seoul, are waiting to replace their SIM cards. SK Telecom plans to offer free SIM card replacement services to subscribers starting today. 2025.4.28. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

In the notice, CEO Yoo stated, "Our company is currently facing the greatest crisis since its founding," and diagnosed, "Due to the cyber intrusion incident, our customers' daily lives and emotions have been severely damaged. As a result, the trust we have built with our customers over the years is now at risk of collapsing all at once."

With the initiation of the emergency management system, CEO Yoo encouraged all executives to report to work at 7 a.m. every day, including weekends. Executives will hold emergency management meetings at 7 a.m. every day, including weekends and holidays.

The risk management system will also be expanded, and the company-wide emergency management task force, which is a control tower directly under the CEO, will be fully activated. For this purpose, SKT is reported to have recently established an "RM (Risk Management) Situation Room" on its internal network.

Support for personnel involved in the ongoing SIM card replacement for all customers will also be increased. During the May holiday period, all executives will be dispatched directly to SIM card replacement sites such as retail stores and airports to support customers. At the same time, all employees have been asked to actively participate in on-site support activities to protect customers.

CEO Yoo stated, "All executives, including myself as CEO, feel a deep sense of responsibility for this situation," and emphasized, "The only way to overcome this crisis is to go directly to our customers and rebuild trust. Rather than merely handling the aftermath of this incident, all management activities must be restarted with 'customers and the field' as the top priority."