It has been reported that over a ten-day period, during which SK Telecom temporarily waived the penalty fees for subscribers switching numbers after a cyber intrusion incident, approximately 166,000 customers left for other telecommunications providers.
According to the telecommunications industry on the 14th, 42,027 subscribers moved from SK Telecom to other providers on this day, which was the last day of the penalty waiver. Of these, 21,593 moved to KT, and 20,434 switched to LG Uplus.
From the 5th of this month, when the waiver was implemented, until today (excluding Sundays), the daily number of SK Telecom subscribers leaving was recorded as follows: 10,660, 17,488, 13,710, 15,980, 17,376, 21,269, 27,931, and 42,027.
Even after accounting for customers who switched from KT and LG Uplus to SK Telecom during the same period, SK Telecom saw a net decrease of 79,171 subscribers. During this period, 83,268 subscribers moved from SK Telecom to KT, and 83,173 switched to LG Uplus.
Since the hacking incident in April, a total of 835,214 customers have left SK Telecom. The overall number of subscribers has seen a net decrease of 601,376.
The telecommunications industry anticipates that competition among the three major providers for new subscribers, as well as the subsidy wars, will intensify with the upcoming launch of pre-orders for Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Z Fold7 and Flip7 on July 15, and the scheduled repeal of the "Act on the Improvement of Distribution Structure of Mobile Communication Devices" (commonly known as the "Dantong Act") on July 22.
SK Telecom decided to waive the penalty fees for subscribers switching numbers after a cyber intrusion incident, resulting in 160,000 customers leaving within ten days. A notice posted at a telecommunications store in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
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