Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom, apologized on the 30th, saying, "There were many inexperienced aspects to our initial response," and bowed his head again. He emphasized that the company would fully compensate users regardless of whether they subscribed to the SIM protection service if hacking damage occurred.
On this day, Ryu attended a hearing in the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee as a witness, where members criticized SK Telecom's irresponsible response to the hacking incident, pointing out that Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, should also apologize. The committee announced it would vote on a witness application for Chairman Chey when it reconvened at 3:30 p.m.
◇ "The worst hacking incident in the history of telecom companies"... Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, also subscribed to the SIM protection service
On this day, Commissioner Choi Min-hee asked Ryu whether Chairman Chey and executives of SK affiliates had changed their SIMs. Commissioner Choi stated, "If the SIM protection service definitively prevents SIM duplication, Chairman Chey would not have needed to change his SIM."
In response, Ryu stated, "Chairman Chey and Vice Chairman Choi Chang-won did not change their SIMs and subscribed to the SIM protection service," adding, "I will also confirm the SIM replacement status for the other executives." He further stated, "I also subscribed to the SIM protection service without changing my SIM," and noted, "This service is as secure as changing your SIM."
Ryu further stated that he agrees this incident is the worst hacking incident in the history of telecom companies. When Representative Park Jeong-hoon of the People Power Party asked if he agreed that this incident is the worst hacking incident in the history of telecom companies, Ryu responded, "Yes." When Representative Park followed up by asking, "Is it because something that was thought to be unhackable has been hacked?" Ryu answered, "Yes."
◇ Committee members call for waiver of penalties... Ryu Young-sang says, "I will consider it"
On this day, the lawmakers emphasized that SK Telecom should waive the penalties for subscribers wishing to change their numbers. They pointed out, "According to SK Telecom's terms of use, if the company is at fault, customers who wish to terminate should not be charged a penalty," and said, "Ryu and the related organizations must make a decision today."
In response, Ryu repeatedly stated, "I will make a decision after a comprehensive review." Deputy Minister of Science and ICT Kang Do-hyeon said regarding the waiver of penalties, "There is no consideration of a specific company (in terms of profit and loss)," and stated, "We will examine it legally in a clear manner and will address it in conjunction with post-incident processing."
Ryu also announced that he would take measures to strengthen guidance on the SIM protection service and SIM replacement for digitally vulnerable groups.
Ryu also apologized regarding criticisms that SK Telecom delayed reporting to KISA after acknowledging the hacking incident. He clarified that the suspicion that KISA corrected the timestamp on SK Telecom’s report is not true.
Earlier, SK Telecom recognized the hacking incident at 11:26 p.m. on April 18, but reported it to KISA at 4:46 p.m. on April 20. Among this, SK Telecom’s submitted report included the internal report of the incident as the 'incident recognition timestamp,' which was later added to 3:30 p.m. on April 20. This led to suspicions that KISA attempted to modify the incident occurrence timestamp to alleviate the obligation to report within 24 hours.
KISA Director Lee Sang-jung stated, "The report received at KISA was at 4:46 p.m. on April 20. The time the incident was recognized was recorded as 11:26 p.m. on the 18th," and noted, "It was a miscommunication between the KISA and SK Telecom staff." Ryu said, "I sincerely apologize for not reporting the incident within 24 hours after recognizing it."
Furthermore, regarding the request for data preservation made 21 hours after the incident was reported to KISA, Director Lee replied, "SK Telecom did not agree to it." He added, "A support request was made, but it was delayed because SK Telecom did not agree to it," and stated, "SK Telecom misunderstood that it supported small businesses."
◇ "Priority to existing customers' SIMs over new customers"... Promised 100% compensation for damages
Currently, SK Telecom has been conducting a "free SIM (USIM) replacement service" since the 28th, but there is a shortage of SIMs. Subscribers have experienced situations where they could not replace their SIMs, even after waiting in long lines at stores. To address this, SK Telecom secured 6 million SIMs by next month and an additional 5 million by the end of June. Ryu estimated that it would take about three months to replace all customer SIMs.
Ryu also promised to provide SIMs to existing customers wishing to replace their SIMs before new subscribers. Representative Lee Hae-min of the Rebuilding Korea Party stated, "There are reports that new customers for the Samsung Galaxy25 are receiving subsidies after the hacking incident. Please send a directive to the agencies to prioritize existing customers over new ones." Ryu responded, "I will do so."
Ryu emphasized that he would take full responsibility if hacking-related damage occurs to users who have not subscribed to the SIM protection service. Previously, SK Telecom had informed through messages and T World that it would compensate if users were subscribed to the "SIM protection service."
On this day, lawmakers, including Park Jeong-hoon of the People Power Party and Lee Hae-min of the Rebuilding Korea Party, pointed out that "SK Telecom is intimidating its customers." Ryu stated, "My intention was to encourage customers to subscribe to the SIM protection service," and he agreed to revise the wording.