SK Telecom noted on the 27th regarding the increase in the public support fund for the Galaxy S25 and iPhone 16 models over the weekend, "Competitors are also raising subsidies and incentives, so we are responding at a minimal defense level to operate at sales points."
SK Telecom stated this during a briefing on the SIM card information hacking incident held at Samhwa Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul. During the briefing, it was pointed out that SK Telecom had also increased the support fund for subscribers who are changing devices without switching carriers, as well as for those transferring from other carriers.
Earlier, SK Telecom received administrative guidance from the Ministry of Science and ICT not to accept new subscribers or number portability requests, citing the need to focus on a smooth SIM card replacement following the hacking incident.
However, this applies to the 2,600 T World stores nationwide, consisting of agencies and direct-operated stores, and does not apply to sales points engaging in joint operations with the three telecommunications companies.
As SK Telecom implemented the weekend policy to increase public support funds, the number of subscribers noticeably increased. The number of subscribers who moved from KT and LG Uplus to SK Telecom hit 648 on the 5th, when new recruitment was halted, breaking the 1,000 mark and maintaining a range in the hundreds thereafter.
However, in statistics reflecting the increased public support funds on the 26th, the number of subscribers moving from KT and LG Uplus to SK Telecom surged to 3,033.
Lim Bong-ho, head of the Mobile Network Operator (MNO) division, said, "We raised the incentive for attracting new sales points to defend against the maximum possible churn of existing customers and are strengthening the support policy for eSIM users."
He stated that it is difficult to definitively discuss changes to the support fund policy aimed at recovering subscriber loss until the investigation results of the hacking incident are released at the end of next month.
Regarding the damage to agencies due to the suspension of new business, he said, "We should be able to reveal specific compensation plans at the time of lifting the suspension on new subscriber recruitment."
SK Telecom added that the newly supplied SIM card quantities are being sent to directly-operated stores and agencies, and the amounts used for certain device changes are being entirely allocated for replacement work, except for some portions.
On the 22nd, SKT held a Customer Trust Committee meeting to review successful or failed cases of trust recovery among domestic and international corporations facing not only telecom hacking but also various incidents. However, it did not disclose which corporations were reviewed, considering their circumstances.
The Customer Trust Committee also called for SKT to elaborate on its long-term and short-term investment plans for information security.
The cumulative number of SIM card replacements by SK Telecom is 4.59 million, with 4.44 million reservations remaining, and 229,000 participants have been involved in the rerouting process so far.