Notification Sent to Telecom Companies and 26 Applicants
"Partial Penalty Payment Required for Bundled Products"
Acceptance Not Mandatory... Rejection Possible
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) has determined that it was a mistake to set a deadline of July 14 for the waiver of penalties related to the SK Telecom hacking incident.
On the 21st, the KCC announced that the Telecommunications Dispute Mediation Committee had issued an ex officio mediation decision, stating that if users cancel their mobile communication services within this year, all cancellation penalties will be waived. The committee also decided that for bundled products combining mobile services with wired internet and others, a portion of the penalties must be paid.
Yoo Sangyoung, CEO of SK Telecom, is bowing his head in apology at a press conference held at SKT Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul, where he announced the position and future plans regarding the hacking incident. Photo by Yonhap News
The KCC stated that the Dispute Mediation Committee had issued ex officio mediation decisions on applications regarding penalty disputes related to the SKT hacking incident and KT's cancellation of Galaxy S25 preorders, recognizing the responsibility of each telecom company in both cases.
For cases where users applied to cancel SKT services after July 14 and were required to pay penalties, the committee decided that if users apply to cancel their mobile communication services within this year, all cancellation penalties should be fully waived.
The Dispute Mediation Committee stated, "There is no legal basis to limit or extinguish the period during which customers can exercise their legitimate right to terminate a contract, as long as there is no legal reason for its extinction," and added, "The deadline for penalty-free cancellations announced by SKT has no legal basis."
The committee also pointed out that the grace period for penalty waivers, which ended on July 14 after being announced on July 4, was very short, and that it was difficult for consumers to be aware of it with only a single text message notification.
Additionally, after SKT decided to waive mobile service penalties as a follow-up measure to the hacking incident, two dispute applications were filed requesting that penalties for bundled products, such as internet and IPTV, also be waived. In response, the committee decided that SKT should pay 50% of the penalties (discount refunds) incurred by users for canceling bundled wired and wireless products.
Meanwhile, the committee also determined that KT did not have the authority to arbitrarily cancel preorders that exceeded the limited number of 1,000 for the Samsung Galaxy S25, after failing to notify customers of the "first 1,000 only" condition and offering promotional gifts during preorders in January.
The committee added that KT did not provide sufficient grounds to justify difficulties in supplying mobile phones, and therefore must compensate for damages equivalent to the benefits promised to customers whose reservations were canceled.
The Dispute Mediation Committee recently notified both the respondents (telecom companies) and applicants (26 individuals) of these ex officio mediation decisions. If both parties accept the ex officio mediation decision, the mediation is considered established; if either party does not accept, the mediation is considered unsuccessful and the case is closed.
The committee explained that it issued the ex officio mediation decisions because the likelihood of reaching an agreement was low, the case was expected to be prolonged, and there was a need for prompt handling as well as consistency and fairness in mediation.
The committee emphasized, "We hope that the telecom companies will accept this ex officio mediation decision and take a more active role in protecting users' rights and interests."
According to the Telecommunications Business Act, if an objection or acceptance is not submitted in writing within 14 days from the date of receipt of the ex officio mediation decision, it is considered that the party has not accepted the decision.
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