An indication for an early termination payment waiver is seen at a retail retailer in Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap
KT’s payment waiver for early contract termination within the wake of its cell cost fraud case, has triggered a speedy surge in subscriber outflows, with SK Telecom rising as the largest beneficiary.
Because the waiver exemption nears its finish, the subscriber exodus has accelerated sharply, with each day churn surpassing 30,000 for the primary time over the weekend. On Saturday alone, the telecom firm misplaced about 33,300 subscribers. The vast majority of them, over 22,100, moved to SK Telecom, whereas about 8,000 joined LG Uplus and about 3,000 shifted to cell digital community operators.
From Dec. 31, 2025, when the waiver took impact, till Saturday, a complete of over 216,000 subscribers have switched from KT to rival carriers, with about three-quarters of these subscribers choosing SK Telecom throughout that interval.
KT rolled out a termination payment waiver late final month in response to a serious information breach that resulted in unauthorized cell funds amongst a few of its customers, permitting subscribers to terminate their companies at no penalty till Tuesday. This system was retroactive to Sept. 1, 2025, for individuals who had already terminated their contracts.
KT CEO Kim Younger-shub bows in apology for a string of unauthorized cell cost fraud circumstances involving the telecom firm throughout a press convention at KT headquarters in Seoul, Dec. 30, 2025. Yonhap
The newest outflow from KT already exceeds the size seen throughout SK Telecom’s huge common subscriber identification module breach final 12 months. Final July, about 166,000 SK Telecom subscribers left the service over a 10-day waiver interval. By comparability, KT has misplaced roughly 50,000 extra customers over an analogous time-frame, highlighting the depth of the exodus.
With the waiver expiring on Tuesday, the ultimate day is anticipated to see a good additional spike in switching, as subscribers rush to hitch the penalty-free exit on the final minute. Throughout SK Telecom’s payment waiver interval final 12 months, greater than 1 / 4 of the overall exodus occurred through the closing day, spiking the churn to 66 % from the day prior to this.
For SK Telecom, the timing is critical, given the nation’s largest telecom firm has been struggling to regain its 40 % market share because it slipped under the brink following final 12 months’s information breach.
To speed up beneficial properties, SK Telecom has been providing aggressive incentives, together with restoring earlier tenure and T Membership advantages for returning prospects who canceled their subscription through the payment waiver interval between April 19 and July 14 final 12 months.
Nonetheless, contemplating the size of the injury from SK Telecom’s hacking incident, which led the corporate to roll out a compensation package deal value about 500 billion received ($340 million) all year long, the present influx of KT subscribers might solely have a restricted affect.
“It’s unlikely that SK Telecom will get well the 40 % market share, as a result of even earlier than the hacking incident, it was already hovering solely marginally above the 40 % threshold,” an business insider stated.
“The variety of subscribers who exited SK Telecom because the hacking far exceeds the present KT subscriber churn; the profit wouldn’t be sufficient to completely offset these earlier losses.”
In the meantime, KT has moved to stem losses by rolling out a compensation package deal value 450 billion received, together with additional information, roaming advantages and free entry to streaming companies. Nonetheless, not like SK Telecom, the package deal doesn’t embrace subscription payment reductions, drawing combined reactions from its prospects.
