SK Telecom Rejects Consumer Agency's Proposal to Compensate Hacking Victims 100,000 Won Each

Victims Must Pursue Separate Lawsuits
SK Telecom: "We Will Continue Efforts to Restore Trust"

Regarding the personal information leak incident, the Korea Consumer Agency's Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee proposed a settlement requiring SK Telecom to pay compensation worth 100,000 won per person, but SK Telecom has rejected the proposal.

Since the SIM hacking incident that occurred last April, SK Telecom's new subscriber sales, which had been completely suspended, fully resumed on the 24th. It has been 51 days since the SIM hacking incident, during which 190,000 and 150,000 subscribers left for KT and LG Uplus, respectively, over the past month. Photo by Dongju Yoon, at an SK Telecom agency in downtown Seoul. 2025.06.24

According to industry sources on January 30, SK Telecom submitted a written notice to the committee in the afternoon, stating its intention not to accept the settlement. As a result, the settlement process has ended as "unresolved," and the applicants will have to pursue separate civil lawsuits in court to continue the process.

SK Telecom stated, "We thoroughly reviewed the decision of the dispute mediation committee, but considered the fact that we proactively implemented voluntary compensation efforts and enhanced security measures, as well as the significant ripple effects that accepting the settlement could have." The company added, "We ask for your understanding that it is difficult for us to accept the settlement, and we will continue to strengthen measures to restore customer trust and prevent further damage."

Previously, the committee acknowledged that consumers suffered damages due to SK Telecom's personal information leak, and decided to grant 50,000 won in communication fee discounts and 50,000 T Plus Points-usable like cash at partner companies-to each of the 58 applicants. If the settlement were accepted, the same compensation would have been provided to other victims not involved in the mediation, with the total compensation estimated to reach approximately 2.3 trillion won.

Meanwhile, SK Telecom also filed an administrative lawsuit on January 19 against the 134.791 billion won fine imposed by the Personal Information Protection Commission last August over the personal information leak.