SKT pledges to take responsibility for travelers unable to switch SIMs

SK Telecom has pledged to take responsibility for any damages incurred by customers unable to switch their SIM cards before traveling.

Travelers line up at Incheon International Airport on May 2 to replace their SIM cards at the SK Telecom Roaming Center before departure. [NEWS1]

SK Telecom (SKT) pledged to take full responsibility for any damages incurred by customers who, unable to replace their SIM cards before departure, are victims of the telecom's massive data leak while traveling abroad.

During a daily press briefing held at the Samhwa Tower in central Seoul on Saturday, Kim Hee-seop, head of SK Telecom’s Public Relations Center, said that the company’s fraud detection system is actively blocking abnormal authentication attempts.

“Even if customers depart the country without changing their SIM cards due to time constraints, it doesn’t mean all of their information will be exposed,” Kim said. “If damage does occur due to the recent hacking incident, we will naturally take responsibility and provide compensation.”

Ryu Jung-hwan, executive vice president of the Infrastructure Strategy and Technology Center, emphasized that changing to a local SIM card while abroad effectively eliminates risk.

“Once the SIM is replaced, it no longer matches the compromised SIM and thus is not vulnerable to hacking,” he said.

SK Telecom noted a sharp increase in customer visits to airport roaming centers, including at Incheon International Airport, ahead of the early-May holiday season. The surge stems from the incompatibility between its SIM Protection Service and international roaming plans.

“We sincerely apologize for the long wait times caused by this sudden rush of customers,” said Kim. “We ask that customers who are not traveling abroad refrain from visiting airport roaming centers.”

The telecom giant announced that over 700 employees will rotate in to support roaming centers during the holiday period. However, due to difficulties in defining what constitutes an “urgent departure,” SK Telecom will not implement a fast-track SIM replacement service.

The company also addressed concerns about a post on X that allegedly offered to sell SK Telecom customer data. Kim dismissed any connection to the recent breach.

“As confirmed in the Ministry of Science and ICT’s investigation, no names or resident registration numbers were leaked,” Kim stated. “The post appears unrelated to our hacking case and will be clarified through a police investigation.”

Meanwhile, SK Telecom said it would halt new mobile subscriptions not only at its 2,600 T World retail outlets, as previously announced, but also through online and partner sales channels.

However, the company said it has not yet finalized a compensation plan for business losses at retail stores, though it is open to reviewing the matter going forward.

BY HYEON YE-SEUL [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]