Gov’t extends time to apply for extra smartphone discount

The government has extended for another month the period in which mobile telecom subscribers can apply for a discount on their monthly phone bills in exchange for limited discounts on their newly-purchased smartphones.

The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said Monday the application period ending today will be extended until late July.

In April, the government announced a plan where subscribers that purchased new smartphones would get 20 percent off their monthly bill if they opted not to receive a discount on the device itself. The discount was previously 12 percent.

SK Telecom, KT and LG U+ agreed to extend the period because there are still 87,000 subscribers, or 49 percent of discount subscribers, getting 12 percent off instead of 20 percent, the ministry said.

Many receiving the 12 percent discount are unaware of the additional savings, and the ministry says it plans to actively promote the new subsidy plan over the next month.