Seoul: SK Telecom Co. has declined a government panel's recommendation to extend its waiver of subscription cancellation fees through the end of the year as part of compensation for a massive data breach, industry sources said Thursday. Last month, a dispute mediation committee under the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) advised the carrier to exempt fees for customers canceling their mobile service until year-end. SK Telecom had previously pledged to waive the fees for cancellations made by July 14.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the sources said SK Telecom did not submit a written opinion to the panel's decision by Wednesday's deadline, effectively signaling its refusal. "We thoroughly reviewed the committee's decision but decided not to accept it after considering its impact on the company and related legal issues," an SK Telecom official said.

In April, private data of more than 20 million SK Telecom users were leaked in a cyberattack on the company's network servers. In response, SK Telecom replaced the USIM chips for all 25 million users free of charge, while suspending new subscription services for two months. The company unveiled a comprehensive compensation package and cybersecurity investment plan worth more than 1 trillion won (US$719.2 million) in June.

Furthermore, the state data protection regulator imposed a 134.8 billion won fine on the company last month.