Suspension of New Subscriptions at 2,600 T World Stores... Why Are Online and Offline Retailers Still Allowed?

Online and Offline Retailers Handling All Three Major Carriers
No Direct Contractual Relationship with SKT, SIM Inventory Cannot Be Tracked
Possibility of Offering Large Subsidies to Attract Subscribers

SK Telecom announced on the 2nd that, in order to secure an adequate supply of SIM cards, it will suspend new subscriptions and number porting at more than 2,600 T World retail stores nationwide starting from the 5th. However, SKT new subscriptions and number porting services will continue at both online and offline retailers that handle all three major mobile carriers.

Executives including SK Telecom CEO Yu Sangyoung (third from left) are bowing in apology during a daily briefing on SIM card information leakage held at SKT Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 2nd. Photo by Yonhap News

SKT CEO Yoo Youngsang held a briefing at the company's Euljiro headquarters in Seoul on the 2nd to announce customer protection measures.

Yoo stated that, after making necessary preparations, new subscriptions and number porting will be suspended at more than 2,600 T World stores nationwide no later than the 5th. This measure aims to ensure that, due to the shortage of SIM cards, even one more customer can receive a replacement SIM card as quickly as possible.

Until countermeasures regarding SIM cards are established, T World stores will suspend consultations for new customers and focus solely on SIM card replacements for visiting customers. SKT also plans to compensate these stores for any business losses incurred during this period.

However, online and offline retailers that handle all three major mobile carriers are not subject to the suspension, as they do not have a direct contractual relationship with SKT.

Yoo explained, "Retailers are even more like small business owners than our agency partners, so asking them to suspend their business is essentially telling them to stop making a living, which is extremely difficult. Even if we wanted to, it would be hard to enforce, so we have concluded not to suspend operations at these retailers."

SKT also clarified that retailers are not subject to this measure because they do not provide customer services such as SIM card replacements, and in practice, only handle activations.

An SKT representative stated, "Retailers do not handle SIM card replacements, and their SIM inventory is already the property of the business owner, making it virtually impossible to track. There is no basis for preventing retailers, who do not have a contractual relationship with SKT, from using SIM cards they already own."

Regarding the exclusion of retailers from the suspension, the company explained, "We do not even know the monthly sales of these retailers, so it would be difficult to compensate them for losses. That is why we have instructed the 2,600 agencies that exclusively handle SKT business and are connected only to the SKT network to suspend new subscription sales and focus on SIM card replacements."

With the SKT hacking incident and the scheduled abolition of the Device Distribution Law in July, there are concerns that retailers may use illegal subsidies to attract subscribers, potentially causing some confusion in the market.

Meanwhile, the issue of waiving penalties for customers wishing to switch from SKT to another carrier is still under internal discussion. Yoo stated, "The matter of waiving penalties is extremely complex. Like the Ministry of Science and ICT, we are conducting legal reviews through law firms." He added, "We are also undergoing various comprehensive reviews internally."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.