Korean mobile telcos offer language services to win foreign customers

A signboard of KT, SK telecom, and LG Uplus [Photo by Han Joo-hyung]

South Korea’s three major telecom companies are enhancing efforts to attract new foreign customers such as by introducing foreign language consultation services as they seek to serve foreign residents in the country that have been growing after the pandemic.

According to government data released on Sunday, the number of foreign residents in Korea reached 2.36 million in May, up 17.5 percent from a year ago when it stood at 2.01 million. The number of long-term foreign residents also increased by 11.2 percent during the same period.

One essential service greatly impacted by the influx of foreigners is mobile communication.

According to data from the Ministry of Science and ICT, the number of mobile phone subscribers in the first quarter of this year reached about 55.81 million, up by 320,000 from the previous quarter. While the growth in subscribers can be attributed to various factors, the increase in the number of foreign residents in the country is considered to have played a role.

To address the growing number of foreign residents, the three major telecommunications companies are implementing measures such as operating foreign language websites and providing consultation services in languages such as English, Chinese, and Russian.

SK telecom Co. offers English services through its mobile app and provides foreign language consultation services at over 30 offline T World stores.

KT Corp. operates “Global Stores” where foreign language support is available and it offers consultation services in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Russian at its foreign customer center.

LG Uplus Corp. opened its first mobile English website in April and plans to expand it to include more languages such as Chinese, Russian, and Vietnamese.

Foreigners, however, still face difficulty when it comes to utilizing the services of budget-friendly mobile carriers. Currently, there are around 11 thrifty phone providers that allow online registration for foreign customers.