Final Decision on Penalty Fee Waiver Expected After June... SKT Says "Will Decide If Disciplined"

Conclusion on Independent Penalty Fee Waiver "Not Easy"
Difficult to Decide Even After Two Board Meetings
Government Says "Two Months Needed for a Conclusion"

SK Telecom has stated that it can only decide whether to waive penalty fees for contract cancellations after the government imposes disciplinary action in response to the USIM hacking incident. The company maintains that it is difficult to make an independent decision regarding the waiver of penalty fees for breaking contracts. Since the government's conclusion is expected in the middle to late part of next month, the controversy over the penalty fee waiver is likely to be prolonged.

On May 8, at the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee hearing, SKT CEO Yoo Youngsang responded to a question from Choi Minhee, a Democratic Party lawmaker and chair of the committee, who asked, "Will SK Telecom only waive penalty fees if the Ministry of Science and ICT imposes disciplinary actions such as a business suspension?" Yoo replied, "If the Ministry of Science and ICT takes action, we have no choice but to comply."

When Choi further asked whether SKT could decide on its own to waive the penalty fees, Yoo answered, "Given the current situation, it is a complicated issue, so it is not easy to make a decision." He added, "We have held two board meetings to discuss the penalty fee waiver, but it is difficult to make an immediate decision. We need to comprehensively review not only legal issues but also the scale of losses and the issue of customer discrimination within the mobile telecommunications ecosystem." On this day, SKT estimated that losses could reach 7 trillion won over the next three years if penalty fees are waived. The company also calculated that 4.5 to 5 million people would cancel their contracts each month, resulting in a significant hit to revenue.

Since the government announced that it will make a decision on the penalty fee waiver in the middle to late part of next month, SKT's decision is also expected to be delayed. The Ministry of Science and ICT has requested legal reviews on the penalty fee waiver from four law firms. Sangim Yoo, Minister of Science and ICT, stated, "We received a legal review from the law firms yesterday morning, but the results are not very clear. We need to wait for the results of the joint public-private investigation team before reaching a conclusion, so it will take about one and a half to two months." One and a half months from the start of the ministry's legal review on April 28 is June 12 of next month.

On the 8th, at the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee SK Telecom hearing, Sangim Yoo, Minister of Science and ICT, is responding to lawmakers' questions. Photo by Yonhap News