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Over 10,000 subscribers leave KT on first day of waived fee over hack

Published: 01 Jan. 2026, 19:10

A message sent by KT to customers through its app on Dec. 31, 2025, notifies them about the waiver of early termination fees. [YONHAP]

More than 10,000 subscribers left KT on the first day the telecom operator began waiving early termination fees for all customers as part of its compensation plan over a hacking incident.

The total number of mobile number portability cases recorded on Wednesday reached 35,595, according to the telecommunications industry on Thursday, more than double the recent daily average of around 15,000 cases.

“The end of the year and New Year periods are usually slow for number portability, but the KT termination fee waiver appears to have activated the market faster than expected,” an industry source said.

A total of 10,142 subscribers left the KT network on Wednesday. Of those, 5,784, or 57 percent, moved to SK Telecom. Another 1,880 switched to LG U+, while an even larger number, 2,478 subscribers, moved to budget mobile carriers.

“With hacking incidents affecting not only SK Telecom last year but now KT and LG U+ as well, consumers appear to be choosing carriers based more on tangible economic benefits such as promotions and pricing plans rather than the hacking issue itself,” said a budget carrier representative. “LG U+ is currently under investigation by the police after it was revealed that the company had independently disposed of some servers suspected of being involved in hacking incidents.”

KT CEO Kim Young-shub bows in apology over a security breach during a press briefing on information security innovation at the KT Gwanghwamun Building in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Dec. 30, 2025. [NEWS1]

KT previously announced at a press briefing on Tuesday that it would waive termination fees through refunds for customers who choose to cancel their mobile service contracts by Jan. 13.

The move followed a recommendation by a joint government-private investigation team probing the hacking of illegal femtocells — a small base station used to boost mobile signals — calling on KT to waive termination fees for all users. The government concluded that KT bore responsibility for the incident due to lax management of the femtocells.

Competition to attract subscribers is expected to intensify during the two-week fee waiver period. This is because conditions now allow for more aggressive marketing after the abolition of the Mobile Device Distribution Improvement Act last July, which removed caps on sales subsidies.

A phone store with the logos of Korea's three top mobile carriers, SK Telecom, KT and LG U+, is seen in Seoul on Sept. 11, 2025. [YONHAP]

From the first day of the waiver, carriers have already begun ramping up promotional efforts, including raising sales subsidies by about 100,000 won ($70) and offering additional incentives to customers who switch carriers and then change devices.

“If the scale of number portability grows, it could affect market share across the telecom industry,” an industry source said. “SK Telecom will likely accelerate efforts to recover the 40 percent market share it lost after last year’s hacking incident, while LG U+ will step up subscriber acquisition with the goal of reaching a 20 percent share.”

The Korea Media and Communications Commission sent official notices to the three major telecom operators immediately after KT announced the fee waiver, urging them to refrain from false or exaggerated advertising and from engaging in unfair practices.

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 EO HWAN-HEE [[email protected]]