Science & Tech · Cybersecurity · 1 hr ago
SK Telecom’s customer churn eases after major hacking incident
South Korean carrier SK Telecom is regaining customer trust after a major hacking incident last year.
The company’s monthly customer churn rate rose to 1.6% just after the incident, then fell to 0.8% in the second quarter of this year, close to its pre-incident level.
Its mobile subscriber numbers also rose for two straight quarters after reaching a low point, while it gained the most customers among South Korea’s three mobile carriers in number transfers from January to July.
SK Telecom offered free SIM card replacements and protection services, waived some cancellation fees, and promised 12 trillion won for customer compensation and security measures.
A university professor said these steps helped rebuild trust, but noted that the company had failed to detect the intrusion for a long time and had given too little explanation at first.
Security gaps and service disruption remain unresolved, so the recovery is not yet complete.
SK Telecom’s monthly average customer cancellation rate fell to 0.8% in the second quarter of 2026, close to its 0.7% level before a major hacking incident.
The rate had risen to 1.6% in the second quarter of 2025, shortly after the incident.
A professor said customer protections, compensation and security investment helped the company regain trust.
The company’s mobile subscriber base rose for two consecutive quarters after reaching a low in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The professor said the recovery was not complete, citing security failures and problems with early communication and SIM-card replacement.
- Who
- SK Telecom and its customers; Shin Min-soo, a Hanyang University professor, assessed the company’s response.
- What
- Customer cancellations eased after a major hacking incident, and an academic assessment credited customer protections and security measures with helping restore trust.
- When
- The incident occurred in 2025; the assessment was presented on October 28, 2026.
- Where
- The assessment was presented at a seminar at the Korea Press Center in Jung District, Seoul.
- Why
- Shin said customer protection and compensation, security investment and changes to security systems helped restore trust.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
SK Telecom’s monthly average cancellation rate rose to 1.6% after the hacking incident.
The company’s mobile subscriber count reached a low point.
The monthly average cancellation rate fell to 0.8%, and the subscriber base had increased for a second consecutive quarter.
Shin Min-soo presented an assessment of SK Telecom’s response at a seminar in Seoul.
- Cancellation rate peak
- 1.6% in the second quarter of 2025
- Cancellation rate
- 0.8% in the second quarter of 2026; 0.7% in the first quarter of 2025
- Mobile subscriber increase
- 220,000 over two consecutive quarters
- Number portability
- Net increase of 156,842 subscribers from January to July 2026
- Customer compensation package
- 500 billion won
- Planned security investment
- 700 billion won over five years
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What people are saying
When the company gave up business opportunities on its own, the value of ‘customers first’ changed from a mere advertising slogan into a choice reflected in profit and loss.
This was a case of a company taking on customers’ risks and costs.