The Ministry of Science and ICT lifts the ban on SKT recruiting new subscribers.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 23rd that it will lift the administrative guidance to ‘completely suspend new subscriber recruitment’ for SK Telecom as of June 24th.

On May 1, the Ministry of Science and ICT issued an administrative directive to “completely stop recruiting new subscribers until the supply of USIM cards stabilizes” as inconveniences to mobile communication service users were worsening due to a shortage of replacement USIM cards.

SKT met two requirements: securing enough supply to meet replacement demand by mid-June and stabilizing the new SIM reservation system introduced on June 20.

The Ministry of Science and ICT judged that these improvement measures had achieved the purpose of administrative guidance and decided to resume new business.

The Ministry of Science and ICT has requested SKT to give top priority to SIM card replacement requests from existing users even if new subscriber recruitment resumes.

Along with this, they stated, “We will continue to strengthen monitoring to ensure smooth supply of SIM cards between telecommunication companies and minimize customer inconvenience.”

With the lifting of this administrative guidance, SKT will normalize new subscription, number transfer, and device change sales through general agencies and online channels starting June 24.

A telecommunications company official said, “The problem of delayed subscriptions due to a shortage of SIM cards will be resolved, and market competition will recover.”

Users can now apply for services without delays in opening accounts due to concerns about SIM card inventory.