[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Shares of SK Telecom dropped more than 5% on July 4 after the South Korean government ordered the telecom provider to waive early termination fees for customers affected by a recent SIM data breach.



According to the Korea Exchange, SK Telecom’s stock opened at KRW 56,700, down 1.56% from the previous day, and plunged to KRW 54,400 (-5.56%) by market close following the Ministry of Science and ICT’s announcement. The stock briefly turned positive in early afternoon trading but reversed sharply after the government's statement, hitting an intraday low of KRW 54,300.



The ministry’s investigation, led by a public-private joint task force, concluded that SK Telecom violated its contractual obligation to provide secure telecommunications services and was responsible for the breach. Authorities determined that subscribers choosing to cancel their contracts due to the incident should not be subject to penalties or early termination fees. The government also warned that if SK Telecom fails to comply, it could face corrective orders or even license revocation.



SK Telecom’s parent company SK Inc. also saw its shares fall 4.79% on the same day. Other SK Group affiliates such as SK Square (-5.01%), SK Innovation (-3.44%), and SK hynix (-2.87%) also experienced declines, contributing to broader losses in the technology and telecom sector.



The benchmark KOSPI index closed down 1.99% at 3,054.28, while the KOSDAQ fell 2.21%.

 

 

 

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