SK Telecom said on the 13th that on the 11th it signed a "visiting service" business agreement with four South Gyeongsang Province local governments—Sancheong County, Hamyang County, Geochang County and Hapcheon County—to ensure residents can use telecommunications services safely and to bridge the digital divide.
At the signing ceremony held at Sancheong County Office, attendees included National Assembly member Shin Seong-beom, who represents Sancheong, Hamyang, Geochang and Hapcheon; Sancheong County Chief Yoo Myeong-hyeon; Hamyang County Chief Jin Byeong-yeong; Geochang County Chief Lee Hong-gi; Hapcheon County Chief Kim Yun-cheol; Lee Hye-yeon, head of the Customer Value Innovation Office at SK Telecom; and Kim Woo-ram, head of the External Support Office at SK Telecom.
SK Telecom ran a total of 145 "visiting service" sessions in 74 cities and counties nationwide this year, meeting about 13,000 customers in person. The company said the agreement is significant because it advances the "visiting service," which SK Telecom has directly operated by visiting customers, into a collaborative model with local governments that best understand local conditions and resident needs.
According to resident registration population statistics from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, as of the end of July 2026, the share of residents age 65 or older in the four counties is 46.3% in Sancheong, 42.2% in Hamyang, 34.7% in Geochang and 48.9% in Hapcheon. All four counties are about 1.6 to 2.3 times the national elderly population rate of 21.7%.
National Assembly member Shin Seong-beom said, "The more elderly residents there are in a region, the more cases of financial damage such as voice phishing, and the digital divide is also very large," adding, "It was judged that a public-private cooperation system is very important to visit experts and local residents directly and provide needed training, so we prepared this training in connection with the 'visiting service' operated by SK Telecom."
SK Telecom plans to run two "visiting service" sessions each in Sancheong, Hamyang, Geochang and Hapcheon, for a total of eight. In keeping with regions with high elderly populations, it will offer not only lecture-style training but also participatory, hands-on programs such as voice phishing simulations.
Local residents can access practical information they can use right away in daily life, such as preventing financial crimes and using mobile phones, and receive consultations on telecommunications services they have been curious about. Phone checkups and device care are also provided on the spot.
The four counties will set the venue, operating method and participation scale according to local conditions and will support broad resident participation by using local networks.
Rather than ending with a standard lecture, local residents can receive customized telecommunications service training tailored to individual needs, immediately address questions during the process, and engage in repeat learning, helping reduce the burden of using digital services.
In addition, elderly residents who have had difficulty traveling to retail stores can receive close support—regardless of carrier—for smartphone sanitizing and cleaning, screen protector replacement and device checkups, resolving inconveniences for seniors right on site.
Sancheong County Chief Yoo Myeong-hyeon said, "This public-private cooperation is highly meaningful in that it allows us to closely examine residents' voices and living conditions such as the telecommunications environment and provide needed training," adding, "We will continue to work closely with SKT to provide tailored support that matches regional characteristics."
Lee Hye-yeon, head of the Customer Value Innovation Office at SK Telecom, said, "Visiting where customers are to provide needed services and listen to their voices is an important starting point for strengthening customer trust," adding, "We will continue field-centered activities with local governments that know their regions best so that residents can use telecommunications services more safely and conveniently."