SKT rejects recommendation to extend penalty waiver to end of year

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SKT rejects recommendation to extend penalty waiver to end of year

Published: 04 Sep. 2025, 15:48 Updated: 04 Sep. 2025, 15:49

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Pedestrians walk past an SK Telecom store in Seoul on Aug. 28. [NEWS1]

SK Telecom (SKT) has rejected the communication watchdog's recommendation to extend a penalty fee waiver until the end of the year.

The Korea Communications Commission's dispute mediation committee issued an ex officio mediation decision on Aug. 21 in response to dispute settlement applications filed over SKT's SIM card hacking incident in April.

The committee had urged the nation's largest mobile carrier at the time to prolong the waiver deadline it initially set for July 14 to the end of the year. It also advised the company to cover half of the penalty fees incurred when customers canceled bundled fixed-mobile services.

SKT did not submit its opinion on the committee’s recommendation by Wednesday’s deadline, meaning that it has practically been rejected by the company.

A company spokesperson said the telecom "reviewed the decision carefully" and decided to reject the motion "after considering the significant impact on the company as well as potential effects on similar lawsuits and group disputes."

Under the Telecommunications Business Act, a company that does not respond in writing within 14 days of receiving a mediation decision is deemed to have rejected it. Because SKT did not submit a reply by the deadline, the case ended without a settlement.

The committee’s mediation decisions are not legally binding unless both parties accept them, meaning the case could proceed to court if applicants are dissatisfied.

Meanwhile, rival KT also declined to accept a separate recommendation related to a dispute over its Galaxy S25 preorders. The committee ruled in January that KT bore responsibility after it canceled orders for promotional gifts without disclosing in advance that they were limited to the first 1,000 customers.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM NAM-YOUNG [[email protected]]