Amid a security controversy over the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) system that has led LG Uplus to replace all subscribers' SIM cards, a civic group has called on the carrier to waive early-termination fees. The group argued that subscribers who want to cancel due to security concerns may be unable to switch carriers because of the burden of penalties.
On the 17th, the Seoul YMCA Citizens' Mediation Office issued a statement titled "LG Uplus should implement early-termination fee waivers over location tracking and smishing risks affecting 17.5 million people" and stated accordingly.
Seoul YMCA said, "Demonstrations by experts show that security threats stemming from LG Uplus's poor IMSI management are becoming a reality," and added, "Experts warn that phone-number–based IMSI values can be used for real-time location tracking and the theft of call content and text messages."
It continued, "The Ministry of Science and ICT says LG Uplus's actions are not legally problematic, but poor IMSI management can clearly be seen as a legal violation as a failure to fulfill the duty in Article 3 of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection to 'provide safe services and protect users' rights and interests.'"
Seoul YMCA said LG Uplus should implement early-termination fee waivers. Seoul YMCA argued, "Whether poor IMSI management constitutes a reason for a penalty waiver under the terms and conditions should be judged mainly on LG Uplus's negligent IMSI system management and whether it violated the duty to provide safe services," and criticized, "Because the carrier failed to take the level of protective measures that could reasonably be expected, there is significant negligence in IMSI system management."
It continued, "Even if SIM replacement gets fully underway, it will take considerable time for all subscribers to change their SIMs, making a prolonged security gap unavoidable for users who cannot immediately replace them, such as residents of island or mountainous regions and military personnel," and emphasized, "LG Uplus should immediately notify all customers by text message about the prolonged poor IMSI management and security risks, and the Ministry of Science and ICT should issue administrative guidance granting a sufficient period of early-termination fee waivers for all LG Uplus customers."