SKT continues to hemorrhage subscribers in wake of data breach

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SKT continues to hemorrhage subscribers in wake of data breach

Published: 11 Jul. 2025, 16:00 Updated: 13 Jul. 2025, 17:17

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A notice outside a telecom provider service center announces SK Telecom's temporary waiver of contract termination fees on July 7. [YONHAP]

SK Telecom (SKT) is continuing to suffer from a customer exodus, with numbers rising rapidly, especially after it promised to waive contract termination fees for everyone in response to a recent cybersecurity incident.

A total of 17,376 SKT subscribers switched to rival carriers on Thursday, according to the telecom industry on Friday. Of these, 8,915 moved to KT and 8,461 to LG U+.

In contrast, only 10,720 subscribers switched to SKT from KT and LG U+, resulting in a net loss of 6,656 subscribers in just one day.

Since Saturday, when SKT began waiving early termination fees, the company has averaged over 10,000 daily subscriber losses, with the exception of Sunday. The cumulative number of subscribers who left SKT between Saturday to Thursday has reached 75,214, with a net outflow of 28,566.

Industry experts attribute the mass exodus directly to the waiver of termination fees and expect the upward trend in number portability to continue until the policy expires on Monday.

The spike in number changes has intensified marketing competition among telecom providers. SKT has filed a complaint with the Korea Communications Commission, accusing KT of illegal subsidies and aggressive promotional tactics.

KT reportedly asked some employees to change their KakaoTalk profile pictures to display a message promoting SKT’s termination fee waiver for switching customers.

Since the waiver was introduced on Friday, more than 130,000 mobile phone numbers have been changed across the industry.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]