Military Discussing SKT USIM Replacement for Service Members with Providers and Agencies

The military announced on the 29th that it is establishing a cooperative system with mobile service providers and their agencies to protect the personal information of service members, whose access to retail stores is limited, in response to the recent hacking incident involving SK Telecom's USIM cards. The military is also preparing additional countermeasures.

Ministry of National Defense, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jin Hyung Kang

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Jeon Hagyu, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, responded to related questions at a regular briefing on this day, stating, "We are working with service providers or agencies at each unit so that service members can replace their USIM cards as soon as possible, and the Ministry of National Defense is also considering measures at the ministry level."

Spokesperson Jeon denied some reports that the Ministry of National Defense had ordered service members to replace their USIM cards, saying, "Measures are already in place to ensure that service members' mobile phones maintain basic security," and added, "This is a different situation from military information leaks."

He further explained, "This is simply to alleviate inconvenience, as service members face restrictions compared to the general public when visiting retail stores," and added, "The military has not separately secured USIM cards, nor is it prioritizing the replacement of service members' USIM cards."

The military is also reviewing the situation regarding work-use mobile phones. Spokesperson Jeon stated, "The decision on whether to replace all USIM cards in work-use mobile phones is being considered internally by intelligence agencies and the military," and added, "We are also cooperating with SK Telecom."

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