Ryu Young-sang, President of SK Telecom, and Ko Hak-soo, Chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission, are reported to have met recently, sparking controversy. The commission is investigating a personal information leak incident at SK Telecom.
According to the commission on the 29th, Chairperson Ko met with President Ryu at the government office in Seoul on the 22nd at the request of SK Telecom, with representatives from both sides present.
Kim Hee-seob, head of the SK Telecom PR Center, noted during a daily briefing related to cyber intrusion incidents held at Samhwa Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul, that "President Ryu is chairing various internal strategy meetings and conducting on-site management," adding that "meeting with various external figures to explain the situation and receive advice is part of the overall process of managing the situation." The commission also issued a statement emphasizing that "Chairperson Ko plans to thoroughly investigate and take action against SK Telecom in accordance with relevant laws."
SK Telecom announced during the briefing that it is increasing support for device change subsidies for agencies suffering losses due to the halt in new subscriber recruitment. Lim Bong-ho, head of the mobile network operations division at SK Telecom, said, "While agencies cannot conduct new sales, they are still handling device changes, and although there are differences among stores, the number of device changes has increased by 30 to 40 percent compared to normal months." He added, "Since we are supporting device changes with increased subsidies, it is proceeding normally compared to the past."
The SK Telecom Agency Council issued a statement that day urging the company to promptly present a compensation plan commensurate with the losses during the new recruitment suspension period. They also requested the government to revoke the halt on new recruitment. SK Telecom is supporting agencies by facilitating SIM card replacement tasks, operating stores on holidays, and providing interest-free lending of 5 million won per store for three months.
The number of SK Telecom subscribers who underwent free SIM card replacement has been reported at 5.17 million. The remaining number of reserved waiting subscribers stands at 3.89 million. Cumulative figures for SIM card rerouting subscribers have reached 246,000. SK Telecom is sending staff to 88 regions to provide SIM card replacement and rerouting services. As of the previous day, a cumulative total of 20,000 people have completed SIM card replacements. The company plans to send staff to 321 regions by the end of June to support SIM card replacements, currently operating at a rate of 300,000 per day.