Penalty Exemption Also Under Review by Committee
At Least 2.5 Million Number Portability Cases Expected if Penalties Are Waived
SK Telecom, which is currently addressing the USIM hacking incident, announced the establishment of a "Customer Trust Recovery Committee" and stated that it will review measures to restore subscriber trust, including the exemption of contract termination penalties. It is estimated that exempting penalties for contract termination would result in a minimum loss of 250 billion KRW.
Yoo Youngsang, CEO of SKT, appeared at a hearing of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee on May 8 and said, "Yesterday, we established a plan to set up the Customer Trust Recovery Committee."
The Customer Trust Recovery Committee is an organization that listens to subscriber feedback, investigates areas where trust has been lost, and discusses measures to protect users. When Representative Lee Haemin of the National Innovation Party asked whether the committee would also address the issue of penalty exemptions, CEO Yoo responded, "We will address the overall restoration of customer trust, including penalty exemptions."
If SKT decides to exempt penalties, the estimated loss is at least 250 billion KRW. When Representative Lee Hoonki of the Democratic Party of Korea asked how much number portability would increase if penalties were abolished, CEO Yoo replied, "It could increase by up to more than ten times compared to now," and added, "We expect more than 2.5 million people." He also explained that the average penalty per person is about 100,000 KRW, and that exempting penalties alone would result in a loss of 250 billion KRW.
Yoo Youngsang, CEO of SK Telecom, is responding to questions from lawmakers at a hearing held on the 30th of last month by the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee. Photo by Kim Hyunmin
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