As the deadline for the waiver of penalties for SK Telecom's hacking approaches just one day away, the mobile carrier market is heating up again.
According to the telecommunications industry on the 13th, from the date SK Telecom reported the hacking on April 22 to July 12, 793,187 subscribers moved from SK Telecom to other carriers. Of these, 418,817 went to KT, while 374,370 switched to LG Uplus.
Even when considering the customers who moved to SK Telecom from KT and LG Uplus during the same period, the total number of SK Telecom subscribers decreased by 576,037.
Earlier, the daily outflow, which had soared to the mid-to-late 30,000s at the end of April, gradually decreased, with last month seeing a daily net outflow of around 10,000. At the time when SK Telecom's SIM card replacement operation was nearing completion, new subscribers even outnumbered those leaving.
However, as SK Telecom has announced that it will waive penalties until the 14th, the number of subscribers leaving is increasing again. From July 5 to 12, 124,414 people left SK Telecom. The day before Saturday, the net outflow was 15,288 in just one day.
In order to retain customers, SK Telecom decided to offer a 50% discount on communication fees for about 24 million users, including budget phone users using its network, in August. Starting next month and until the end of the year, it will also provide all customers with an additional 50GB of data each month.
KT and LG Uplus are actively working to absorb SK Telecom subscribers. As of mid-June, based on the Galaxy S25, all three telecom companies were providing subsidies exceeding 1 million won. Last week, it was also shown that SK Telecom maintained a subsidy of around 1 million won, while KT and LG Uplus offered between 700,000 and 800,000 won.
SK Telecom also reported KT to the Korea Communications Commission on July 7 for illegal subsidies and fear-based marketing. In May, a certain agency of LG Uplus faced criticism for marketing that it would assist in filing a group lawsuit related to the SK Telecom hacking.
Industry sources believe that the mobile carrier market will be more volatile in July. On the 15th, pre-orders will begin for Samsung Electronics' new foldable phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 series. On the 22nd, the Mobile Device Distribution Act is expected to be abolished, intensifying the competition for subsidies.