SKT Says Extension of Penalty Waiver Is Difficult...Efforts Underway for Customer Compensation Plans

SK Telecom Rejects Recommendation
to Extend Penalty Waiver Period

SK Telecom has decided not to accept the recommendation from the Korea Communications Commission's Telecommunications Dispute Mediation Committee to extend the penalty waiver measure until the end of the year.

According to the telecommunications industry on September 4, SK Telecom effectively rejected the recommendation by not submitting an opinion letter to the Telecommunications Dispute Mediation Committee by the deadline, which was the previous day.

An SK Telecom official explained, "We thoroughly reviewed the decision of the Telecommunications Dispute Mediation Committee, but concluded that it is difficult to accept, considering the significant impact on the company and the potential ripple effects on similar lawsuits and collective disputes."

The official added, "So far, there have been no secondary damage cases, and we are making various efforts, including preparing large-scale customer compensation plans such as penalty waivers and information protection innovation measures."

SK Telecom allocated 500 billion won for consumer compensation and 700 billion won for information security investments following the cyber breach incident in April. The company maintains that further penalty waivers are not feasible.

Previously, the Telecommunications Dispute Mediation Committee decided that SK Telecom should fully waive penalties for subscribers who apply for termination within this year. This decision was made regarding two cases where subscribers applied for termination after the penalty waiver deadline set by SK Telecom had passed and their requests were not accepted, leading them to seek dispute mediation.

The Telecommunications Dispute Mediation Committee stated that the right to terminate a contract cannot be limited in duration unless there are legal grounds for extinction, and that the penalty waiver deadline set by SK Telecom lacks legal basis. The committee also pointed out that closing the waiver period just 10 days after the announcement was excessively short, and that a single lengthy text message was insufficient for all users to be adequately informed.