**Hacking Incident Related First Press Conference**
“Heartfelt Apologies to Customers and Society”
USIM Replacement Costs Expected to Reach Up to 70 Billion Won
Yoo Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom, made a public apology and promised to enhance customer protection measures following a hacking incident that led to the leak of subscriber information. As an immediate response, SK Telecom will provide free USIM card replacements to all 23 million subscribers.
During a press conference held at the company’s headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 25th, Yoo stated, “I sincerely apologize for the great inconvenience and concern caused to our customers and society who have trusted and used SK Telecom,” bowing his head in apology. It has been a week since SK Telecom first became aware of the hacking incident on the 18th.
He also committed to implementing additional measures by offering free USIM card replacements to all SK Telecom customers who wish to have one, aiming to reduce concerns about fraudulent phone activation through illegal USIM card duplication amidst the undetermined scale of the information leak and damage.
Subscribers wishing to replace their USIM cards can visit any T World store or airport roaming center nationwide starting at 10 a.m. on the 28th. With the cost of a USIM card known to be around 2,000 to 3,000 won, the cost of providing free replacements could amount to approximately 70 billion won. Subscribers who have already replaced their USIM cards after the incident on the 18th can also receive a refund, and the same measures will be extended to users of MVNOs that use SK Telecom’s network, potentially increasing the overall costs.
Yoo emphasized, “SK Telecom considers customer trust as the top priority and will further strengthen security systems and develop measures to enhance customer information protection,” adding, “Through this incident, we will commit to reinforcing our fundamentals and being a responsible company.”
SK Telecom plans to enhance its ‘USIM Protection Service’ and monitoring efforts to prevent USIM misuse. The convenience of the USIM Protection Service will be improved, allowing simultaneous subscription with overseas roaming starting next month. From the 22nd until the day before, a total of 2.06 million people have subscribed to this service.
SK Telecom reported to the authorities after detecting that its internal server was infected with malware, resulting in the leak of subscribers’ USIM information on the 18th.