Data Breach Fallout Drives 310,000 KT Users to Rival Carriers (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — According to industry data released Tuesday, roughly 46,000 KT users ported their numbers to other operators on the final day of the waiver, far exceeding the usual daily churn of just over 20,000. The surge underscored pent-up demand ahead of the policy’s expiration.
From the start of the waiver on Dec. 31 through Tuesday, cumulative departures from KT reached about 310,000. Of those, SK Telecom captured the lion’s share, attracting more than 64 percent of defectors when including budget mobile virtual network operators, and over 74 percent among the three major carriers alone.
LG Uplus also gained subscribers, while KT posted a net loss of about 238,000 users during the period.
Analysts say SK Telecom benefited from compensation measures introduced after its own hacking incident last year, including restoring customer tenure and membership status to returning users.
By contrast, KT’s response — centered on additional data allowances — was viewed as less compelling, particularly amid intense competition following the repeal of Korea’s handset subsidy cap law.
The waiver period also coincided with aggressive promotional campaigns by all three carriers, fueling a heated number-portability battle and even temporary shortages of popular new smartphones, including Samsung’s Galaxy S25 and Z Flip 7, as well as Apple’s latest iPhone models.
Industry observers expect the market to stabilize now that the fee waiver has ended. Still, KT faces further scrutiny, as the Personal Information Protection Commission has yet to conclude penalty proceedings related to the breach.
Regulators have signaled that investigations may take time, given a recent spate of large-scale data leak cases involving major companies.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
