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SK chief Chey pressed to appear at National Assembly over SKT data breach

Published: 01 May. 2025, 13:19 Updated: 07 May. 2025, 16:30

Ryu Young-sang, chief executive officer of SK Telecom, answers questions from lawmakers at a meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on April 30. [NEWS1]

SK Chairman Chey Tae-won was requested to appear before the National Assembly for questioning in the aftermath of SK Telecom’s massive data breach.

“Since the CEO cannot give a clear answer, we will summon SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won to testify," said Rep. Choi Min-hee of the Democratic Party during a hearing on Wednesday. Choi heads the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee.

Parliament promptly adopted a motion to bring in Chey after Chey declined to attend Wednesday's hearing, citing medical reasons. The next hearing that exclusively deals with the company's incident is scheduled for May 8.

SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang said that the company will fully compensate customers impacted by a recent data breach, regardless of whether they had subscribed to the company’s optional SIM protection service. The commitment came amid mounting criticism over SK Telecom’s handling of a massive cyberattack that has triggered a wave of user defections.

Ryu acknowledged the severity of the security failure but said that any decision on waiving termination penalties for users switching carriers due to hacking concerns would require broader review.

“I am the CEO, but this is not a decision I can make alone,” Ryu told lawmakers. “We will consider the terms of service and relevant laws before reaching a conclusion.”

The hearing was dominated by calls for SK Telecom to exempt affected customers from early termination fees. Lawmakers argued that requiring users to pay penalties when leaving the service due to security fears was unfair, especially if the breach stemmed from SK Telecom’s own negligence.

Rep. Choi pressed Ryu on the matter, citing SK Telecom’s own policy that exempts users from such fees in cases where the company is at fault.

The fallout from the breach has already been significant. Over a two-day period ending April 29, nearly 70,000 subscribers—34,132 on April 28 and 35,902 on April 29 — ported their numbers to rival telecom providers, raising concerns about a mass exodus.

Asked whether top SK Group executives, including Chairman Chey, had replaced their SIMs in light of the breach, Ryu said they had not.

“I haven’t changed mine either,” he added. “I believe the protection service is sufficient.”

People line up in front of an SK Telecom retail store in Seoul on April 29 to replace their subscriber identity module (SIM) card free of charge. [YONHAP]

Officials from both the carrier and the Ministry of Science and ICT reiterated that there had been no leak of international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) numbers, a claim they said they were “100 percent confident” in. They also maintained that personal identifiers such as resident registration numbers had not been compromised, citing separate storage protocols.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency launched a formal investigation into the breach, forming a 22-member task force within its cybercrime division. The team will be led by the head of the division and will conduct a full-scale probe into the incident.

BY YUN JUNG-MIN [[email protected]]