SK Telecom to replace 23 million USIM cards

SK Telecom, which recently suffered a hacking incident, announced it will begin offering free USIM card replacements to all 23 million of its subscribers starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, April 28. Although no specific damage cases have been confirmed yet, the company decided to replace all USIM cards in response to rising demands for a more fundamental solution beyond simply promoting the USIM protection service. SK Telecom had internally confirmed the hacking attack after detecting malware at 11:20 p.m. on April 18.

"We will implement additional measures to offer free USIM card replacements to all subscribers who wish to replace theirs," SK Telecom CEO Yoo Young-sang stated at a press conference held on Friday at SK T-Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul. "As a national key telecommunications operator with a duty to protect customer information, all of our executives and employees feel deep regret and responsibility for this incident," he added and bowed in apology.

As a result, starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, SK Telecom will begin providing USIM replacement services, including eSIMs, at stores and airport roaming centers nationwide, regardless of whether customers were affected. It will also offer free replacements to approximately 1.8 million budget phone users who use the SK Telecom network. For customers who already paid for a replacement between April 19 and 27, the company will retroactively apply the free replacement service. It is expected that reimbursement will be provided in the form of bill credits or other similar methods. However, some older devices, such as certain smartwatches and kids' phones, will be excluded from the replacement program.


장은지기자 jej@donga.com