The South Korean government’s decision to impose a suspension on new subscriptions for SK telecom Co. stems from concerns that the company is prioritizing maintaining its status as the country’s largest mobile carrier over preventing further damage from a massive hacking incident.

As a result, SK telecom now faces the urgent task of resolving the SIM card shortage at retail locations and alleviating customer anxiety.

The telecom industry projected on Thursday that SK telecom’s market share may fall below 40 percent due to the government’s suspension of new subscriptions. Its current share stands at 40.49 percent as of February 2025 followed by KT Corp. with 23.4 percent and LG Uplus Corp. with 19.19 percent according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.

In the wake of the hacking incident, a significant number of existing customers have already left SK telecom and the government’s move to halt new subscriptions is expected to further damage its market share. According to the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association, SK telecom saw a net loss of 90,333 subscribers from Monday to Wednesday.

Given that 11,991 new subscriptions were made on Monday and Tuesday, over 100,000 customers switched to other carriers in just three days.

Adding to SK telecom’s burden is the government’s request to review not only the waiver of cancellation fees but also a shift in the burden of proof in compensation claims. SK telecom’s terms of service currently state that customers are exempt from penalties if service termination is due to the company’s fault.

If SK telecom accepts the hack as its fault, many customers may leave without financial penalty. SK telecom maintains that its SIM protection service alone is enough to prevent further damage, but this has done little to ease customer concerns. A total of 5.39 million users had reserved SIM replacements, and the figure is believed to have surpassed 6 million.

Customer complaints are rising, especially among SK telecom users planning overseas travel during the long holiday. Users cannot subscribe to both SIM protection and international roaming services simultaneously, meaning those unable to replace their SIMs before departure must choose between the two services.

As of Wednesday, 13.18 million users had subscribed to the SIM protection service.

Meanwhile, legal action against SK telecom appears to be taking shape. Law firm Daeryun Law Firm LLC filed a criminal complaint with the Namdaemun Police Station in Seoul on Thursday, accusing SK telecom of a breach of duty. The firm claimed that SK telecom reduced its investment in information security and neglected SIM-related information protection, prioritizing corporate profits over customer protection.

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