South Korean telecom giant KT on Wednesday began offering free SIM card replacements to all subscribers, as part of efforts to regain trust following a hacking incident.

The move follows a wave of unauthorized small payments in September, when fraudsters used unregistered femtocells — small portable base stations — to gain access to KT users’ phones.

Customers can apply for the free replacement online or via a hotline, then visit any KT service center to receive a new SIM card.

The replacement program began in areas around Gwangmyeong in Gyeonggi Province and Geumcheon-gu in Seoul, where the hacking damage was concentrated, and will gradually expand nationwide.

An employee at a KT Plaza branch in Yeouido, Seoul, changes a customer’s SIM card as part of a free replacement program that began the same day, Wednesday. (Yonhap)
An employee at a KT Plaza branch in Yeouido, Seoul, changes a customer’s SIM card as part of a free replacement program that began the same day, Wednesday. (Yonhap)

khnews@heraldcorp.com