SK Telecom Sees Surge in Customers After KT Waives Early Termination Charges

January MNP information highlights aggressive shifts in South Korea’s cellular market

SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest cellular provider, added greater than 340,000 prospects in January via cellular quantity portability (MNP), as rival KT Corp. briefly waived early termination charges amid fallout from a serious information breach. Trade figures launched Monday present that the coverage change spurred a pointy enhance in subscriber motion towards SK Telecom. 

Based on information compiled by the Korean Telecommunications Operators Affiliation, a complete of 342,000 customers switched to SK Telecom final month — a rise of 184.7 p.c from December, or about 222,000 extra internet port-ins. 

What Drove the Spike in Switching Exercise

MNP permits customers to maintain their present cellphone numbers when shifting between carriers — a crucial function in a market the place switching prices historically embody misplaced quantity id and termination charges. 

Analysts say the sharp rise in transfers was largely pushed by KT’s determination to waive early termination penalties for 2 weeks beginning Dec. 31. The short-term waiver diminished the fee and friction of fixing suppliers, prompting many shoppers to rethink their service decisions. 

Of SK Telecom’s complete internet additions in January:

• About 221,000 subscribers switched from KT, up sharply from roughly 45,000 in December.
• Round 73,000 got here from LG Uplus, the nation’s third-largest provider. 

Rival Operators Additionally See Motion

The MNP surge wasn’t restricted to SK Telecom. LG Uplus recorded round 183,000 inbound transfers final month, greater than doubling its January exercise from the earlier month. About 80,000 of these new customers got here from KT.

KT, for its half, additionally noticed some internet influx via MNP — rising about 53.2 p.c month-on-month to roughly 121,000 customers in January. Nevertheless, its outflow was considerably bigger, reflecting the influence of the termination payment waiver on subscriber churn. 

Information-breach fallout is reshaping the market — and the numbers present it

KT’s short-term payment waiver was provided as a part of a compensation bundle after a data-security incident disclosed in September, which concerned unauthorized micropayments and the compromise of subscriber data. That breach broken buyer confidence and drew regulatory scrutiny, together with inquiries by South Korean authorities.

Somewhat than stabilising the bottom, the waiver considerably lowered the monetary and administrative boundaries to switching — and many shoppers took benefit of it. Trade reporting places the early influence in stark phrases: greater than 216,000 KT subscribers used the waived-fee window to port out in early January, with the majority shifting to rivals resembling SK Telecom and LG Uplus.

Why the waiver triggered such a big outflow may be summarised merely: it transformed a reputational drawback right into a tangible switching alternative. Three mechanisms assist clarify the surge:

• Decreased switching price: With termination charges waived, the direct financial penalty for leaving disappeared.
• Salvaged inertia: Many shoppers tolerate minor grievances as long as exit is dear; the waiver eliminated that inertia.
• Signalling impact: The publicised waiver bolstered perceptions that KT’s incident was severe sufficient to benefit compensation, accelerating mistrust.
  

The size of the motion additionally exhibits how fragile client loyalty may be in a mature, high-penetration market like South Korea’s. Even a brief, well-publicised coverage change can produce outsized churn if it faucets into present unease about safety and belief. Analysts say that whereas short-term port-ins can appear to be windfall beneficial properties for rivals, the episode underlines larger dangers for the business: as soon as belief is dented, regaining it sometimes requires sustained, seen measures on safety and buyer safety.

The present motion follows a turbulent interval in South Korea’s telecom market. In 2025, SK Telecom itself suffered a main USIM information breach that uncovered delicate subscriber particulars and resulted in a considerable regulatory positive. That incident eroded SKT’s market share on the time, permitting rivals to capitalize on buyer churn. 

The latest reversal — with SKT now gaining subscribers after its rival’s breach — highlights how safety failures and belief points are more and more influencing buyer selections alongside conventional components like worth and community high quality.

What This Means for the Cell Market

The January spike in MNP exercise illustrates how short-term pricing incentives and regulatory responses can reshape subscriber conduct in a mature market. South Korea’s cellular sector is extremely aggressive, with most shoppers already subscribed and carriers preventing for incremental beneficial properties.

For SK Telecom, the inflow might assist stabilize its subscriber base after a difficult 12 months, whereas additionally reinforcing its standing as market chief. For KT, the outflow indicators deeper reputational challenges that will require greater than short-term incentives to deal with.

Longer-term implications might embody renewed give attention to buyer belief, safety funding, and differentiated service choices as carriers try to stability subscriber acquisition with consumer retention in an more and more churn-sensitive atmosphere.