17.14 Million Subscribed to SIM Protection Service, 920,000 SIM Replacements Completed
"Refraining from Attracting New Subscribers at Retail Stores and Online"
"Personal Information Sale Post on X Unrelated to Recent Hacking Incident"
SK Telecom (SKT) has pledged to take responsibility if customers suffer damages from SIM card information leaks after leaving the country without being able to replace their SIM (USIM) cards. The company made this promise as the number of customers departing without replacing their SIM cards has increased due to crowds at airport roaming centers.
Kim Heeseop, head of SKT's PR Center, stated during a daily briefing held on the morning of May 3 at Samhwa Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul, "If a customer is unable to replace their SIM card before departure due to imminent flight time and suffers damages from this hacking incident, we will, of course, take responsibility and address the issue."
On the 2nd, travelers are waiting to replace their SIM cards at the SK Telecom booth inside the international terminal of Gimpo Airport in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
Kim emphasized, "Since the abnormal authentication attempt blocking (FDS) system is in operation, it does not mean that all information will be leaked just because a customer leaves the country without replacing their SIM card." Ryu Junghwan, Executive Vice President and Head of Infrastructure Strategy and Technology Center, also explained regarding cases where customers switch to a local SIM card overseas, "If the SIM card is changed, it becomes different from the hacked SIM, so there is no risk of being hacked."
According to SKT, a large number of users planning to travel abroad during the early May holiday are flocking to airport roaming centers such as Incheon International Airport to replace their SIM cards. This is because, at present, it is not possible to use the SIM Protection Service and international roaming service simultaneously. Regarding this, Kim apologized, saying, "We are sorry that waiting times are getting longer as more customers gather during the holiday," and requested, "We ask that regular customers who are not departing refrain from visiting airport roaming centers."
SKT explained that, considering the increase in departing customers during the holiday period, about 700 employees will take turns supporting the roaming centers. Starting from this day, the opening time of the T Roaming Center at Incheon Airport will also be moved up from 6 a.m. to 5 a.m.
However, SKT does not operate a 'fast track' service that prioritizes SIM replacement for customers with imminent departure times. The company cited the difficulty of defining the criteria for what constitutes an imminent departure time as the reason.
SIM replacement is also being carried out at regular retail stores outside of airports. According to SKT, around 1,160 employees from SKT and its affiliates, including SK Broadband and SK Telink, have voluntarily supported retail locations during the holiday period.
As of 9 a.m. on this day, the total number of subscribers to SKT's SIM Protection Service reached 17.14 million, and the number of users who have replaced their SIM cards increased to 920,000. SKT will launch 'SIM Protection Service 2.0' on May 14, which can be used in conjunction with roaming products. This service has been improved to allow the technology that distinguishes between normal and abnormal devices to be utilized overseas as well.
Additionally, SKT announced that it has changed its previous stance of suspending new sales only at about 2,600 T World stores and will now refrain from attracting new subscribers at retail stores and online channels as much as possible. However, the company said it will review compensation plans for sales losses at retail stores in the future.
Meanwhile, SKT clarified that a recent post on X (formerly Twitter) offering SKT customer personal information for sale is unrelated to the current hacking incident. Kim stated, "As confirmed by the Ministry of Science and ICT investigation, customer names and resident registration numbers were not leaked, so at this point, this post is unrelated to our hacking case," adding, "The police investigation will clarify the matter."
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