The free replacement of subscriber identification devices (USIM) by SK Telecom has nearly been completed, but the Ministry of Science and ICT has no plans to immediately decide on resuming new sales.
SK Telecom announced on the 20th that the total number of accumulated replacements of USIMs reached 9.06 million. There are 950,000 remaining reservations. The number of customers who have not visited within a week after receiving the replacement notice text is 680,000.
In accordance with administrative guidance from the Ministry of Science and ICT, new sales were suspended at 2,600 T World stores (both company-operated and franchises) nationwide on the 5th of last month, but from the 16th, it became possible to activate embedded SIMs (eSIM) unrelated to USIM inventory. The Ministry of Science and ICT has stated that if a situation arises where there is no impact on SK Telecom's USIM replacements, it could begin to resume sales. Currently, SK Telecom's USIM inventory exceeds the number of people waiting for replacements. SK Telecom aims to secure a total of 16 million USIMs over the next three months, including 6 million this month, 5 million in July, and 5 million in August.
On this day, SK Telecom introduced a new USIM replacement reservation system that allows subscribers to directly select a store and set the date and time for their visits. The Ministry of Science and ICT is expected to decide on 'resuming new sales' after monitoring the operational performance of this system. A Ministry official said, 'Discussions regarding SK Telecom’s resumption of new sales are ongoing, but no decisions have been made yet.'
SK Telecom stated, 'We have secured a sufficient level of USIMs to continue to meet replacement demand,' and 'even if more than a week has passed since receiving the replacement notice text, customers can still apply for replacements at the selected stores.'