Foreign residents overlooked in SK Telecom’s SIM replacement

SK Telecom's recent hacking fiasco exposed a glaring shortcoming for a firm with global ambitions: virtually no customer service for foreign-language speakers.

An SK Telecom employee holds up a SIM card at the mobile carrier's branch in Seoul on April 25. [YONHAP]

The recent hacking incident that triggered a nationwide rush for SIM card replacements has revealed a surprising oversight: SK Telecom (SKT), Korea’s largest mobile carrier with global ambitions, lacks basic services or platforms to support users who don't speak Korean in its own domestic market.

Foreign SKT subscribers have borne the brunt of the crisis, largely due to the telecom provider’s failure to communicate directly with non-Korean-speaking users. Many only became aware of the issue through Korean colleagues or social media posts.

It wasn’t until days later that they received a text alert — written only in Korean — advising users to enroll in an online protection service to prevent SIM card duplication. Given the language barrier, few foreign users were likely able to fully understand or act on the message.

A woman walks past an SK Telecom store in Seoul on April 27, where a sign apologizes to customers for running out of SIM card replacements. [NEWS1]

Multiple foreigners who the Korea JoongAng Daily spoke to acquired outside assistance to register for the protection service.

“A Korean colleague of mine told me, ‘by the way, if you’re on SKT, you should call the operator and request directions on how to sign up for the service,’” said 37-year-old Ruslan Shosaidov, who’s resided in Korea for 15 years. For Shoshaidov, it was the first time he had to deal with customer service during his 15-year stay in the country.

“I do remember that there was an option for an English-speaking operator when we called, but the colleague communicated with the customer service and I only had to answer basic questions [in Korean] to confirm my identity.”

Two out of Korea’s three major mobile carriers do not offer a separate platform for foreigners. The only exception is LG U+, which launched a dedicated website for foreign users in 2023 in four languages: English, Russian, Chinese and Vietnamese. The site allows users to access basic services such as checking subscription details, exchanging cellular data, blocking or unblocking small mobile payments and activating or deactivating SIM cards.

For SKT, the operator did initially release a separate app for foreigners known as “T World Global” in 2017, which was gradually integrated into the original Korean app. Foreigners are now able to switch to English on the carrier's website and app. However, the information provided in English is scant compared to the mother language platforms, only allowing users to check their mobile plans and ensure that their bills are getting paid correctly.

All three major operators in Korea provide customer service calls in multiple languages including English, but admittedly lack in providing day-to-day notifications or an independent platform for foreigners to conveniently utilize services as Korean users do.

The lack of effort by major Korean telecom carriers to enhance foreign language platforms may stem from the relatively small proportion of foreign subscribers. According to the Ministry of Justice’s immigration data from March, approximately 2.18 million foreigners were long-term residents in Korea, defined as staying over 90 days, and thus more likely to maintain rolling telecom subscriptions.

The figure is modest when compared to SKT’s 24.97 million users who utilize the mobile plan in Korea, followed by KT’s 17.06 million and LG U+’s 15 million.

SK Telecom subscribers wait in line to replace their SIM cards at the mobile carrier's store in Seoul on April 26 after a hacking attack that leaked customer information on April 18. [YONHAP]

The irony is stark: while SK Telecom brands itself as a global leader aiming to expand overseas through AI, it has neglected to offer even basic, user-friendly services for its own foreign subscribers in Korea. This oversight undercuts the company’s global ambitions, despite its recent efforts to integrate AI into telecommunications services abroad.

SKT has joined forces with international telecom giants, including Deutsche Telekom, e&, Singtel and Japan’s SoftBank, to co-develop a multilingual large language model tailored for the telecom industry. The partners plan to launch a joint venture to formalize the project, though details such as investment scale and equity structure remain undisclosed.

Meanwhile, the company is preparing to roll out its AI assistant service, Aster, for global users, with a launch scheduled in North America in the second half of the year.

For Dan, a 21-year-old foreign resident in Korea who declined to give his last name, the company’s apparent disregard for protecting his personal data left him deeply frustrated and seriously considering switching to another carrier.

“It’s absurd that something as serious as a threat to my privacy and safety was not communicated directly by SKT,” he said. “So yes, I’m seriously considering switching to another carrier, especially one that offers better support for English-speaking users.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM, CHO YONG-JUN [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]