SK Telecom stated that it would take responsibility if users who left the country without replacing their SIM card suffered damages due to leakage of SIM card information.
On Dec. 3, SK Telecom held a daily briefing at the Samhwa Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul, and explained the operational plans for roaming centers at major airports nationwide during the holiday season.
Kim Hee-seob, the head of the PR Center at SK Telecom, said, “We are blocking attempts to use it abroad through the Foreign Device Security (FDS) system even after departure.” He added, “If damages occur due to this hacking after the user has to leave without replacing their SIM card close to the flight time, the company will definitely take responsibility and address it.”
SK Telecom announced that it would deploy over 700 employees in three shifts to support on-site operations, such as SIM card replacements, at major roaming centers, including Incheon International Airport, in preparation for the influx of users leaving for overseas during the golden holiday period from the 6th.
As of 9 a.m. on this day, the total number of subscribers to the SK Telecom SIM protection service increased to 17.14 million, and the number of users who replaced their SIM cards reached 920,000.
SK Telecom changed its position from the previous day, when it said it would only halt new sales at 2,600 T World stores, and decided to minimize new subscriber acquisition through sales stores and online channels as well. However, it noted that it has not yet specifically discussed compensation plans for the business losses of retail stores and that it would review them in the future.
Regarding posts on 'X' (formerly Twitter) related to the sale of SK Telecom customer personal information, SK Telecom clarified that it is not related to this hacking incident. Kim noted, “As revealed in the Ministry of Science and ICT investigation, it has been confirmed that customer names and national identification numbers were not leaked, so this post is separate from our hacking case, and it will clarify through police investigation.”
Meanwhile, Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom, announced through an internal notification the day before that he would elevate the emergency management system to its highest level. He will hold an emergency management meeting every morning at 7 a.m. during the weekend and the holiday, and activate the 'company-wide emergency management task force,' which is under the direct control of the CEO.