Seoul: SK Telecom Co. on Monday initiated a complimentary universal subscriber identity module (USIM) chip replacement service for all its customers in response to a recent hacking incident. However, the service encountered disruptions due to a shortage of USIM cards and a high volume of customers eager to take precautionary action.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the company launched a dedicated web page for the service at 10 a.m., alongside around 2,600 SK Telecom stores nationwide commencing the replacement service simultaneously. Approximately 25 million SK Telecom subscribers, including nearly 2 million budget phone users, are eligible to receive the replacement service.
SK Telecom has structured the USIM card distribution by verifying customers' ID cards and reservation confirmation texts during in-store replacements. Shortly after the system's activation, the official website and the USIM replacement page experienced accessibility issues due to heavy traffic. Additionally, offline stores reported long queues of customers waiting for the service.
The shortage of USIM cards is anticipated to continue for a while, as SK Telecom currently possesses about 1 million cards. The company aims to procure an additional 5 million cards by the end of next month. The urgency for replacements follows the detection of a significant leak of customers' USIM data on April 18, attributed to a cyberattack.