Physical USIM Services to Resume Gradually
From June 20, Customers Can Choose Preferred Store Visit Date for USIM Replacement
SK Telecom will resume new mobile service subscriptions, which had been suspended due to a hacking incident, starting with a phased rollout for eSIM users. This marks the first resumption of new business operations in about 40 days since the company halted new subscriptions following the USIM hacking incident.
On June 16, SKT announced through its official newsroom that "from June 16, new subscriptions using eSIM will be available at more than 2,600 T World stores nationwide." An eSIM is an embedded subscriber identification module within a smartphone, which, unlike the conventional chip-based USIM, allows users to activate telecom services without the need for a physical card.
This measure is intended to minimize inconvenience for customers who have reserved USIM replacements. SKT expects that it will be able to accommodate most customers who have made reservations for USIM replacement by June 20. The company also anticipates that it will be able to resume new business operations using USIMs shortly thereafter.
In early May, SKT received administrative guidance from the Ministry of Science and ICT to focus on USIM replacements and subsequently suspended new subscription services. Since then, SKT's directly operated stores and authorized dealers nationwide have not accepted new activations or mobile number portability requests.
As of midnight on June 16, the cumulative number of SKT USIM replacement subscribers had reached 8.07 million, with approximately 1.82 million reservations remaining. Starting June 20, SKT plans to switch its reservation system so that customers wishing to replace their USIMs can directly select their preferred store visit date.
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