SK Telecom is stepping up efforts to support household communication cost reductions by increasing the announced subsidies and conversion subsidies for premium and budget devices.
As of the 23rd, SKT has added ten new devices, including the Samsung Galaxy Fold4, Fold5, S23, Wide6, and Apple iPhone 14, to its list of support-eligible devices, raising the total to 16 devices that will receive conversion subsidies. Additionally, SKT has significantly increased the conversion subsidy from the previous maximum of 120,000 KRW to 320,000 KRW.
With this increase, customers can now receive up to 1 million KRW in support when purchasing the standard Samsung Galaxy Fold4, which has a retail price of 1,598,000 KRW. When signing up for SKT’s 5GX Platinum plan, customers will receive an announced subsidy of 720,000 KRW and a conversion subsidy of 280,000 KRW.
SKT aims to reduce the financial burden on customers for high-end mobile phones while also enhancing support for mid-range and low-end devices.
On the 16th, SKT applied conversion subsidies to the Galaxy A24 and on the 18th to the A15, allowing customers to get these models as “free phones.” Starting from the 23rd, the Galaxy Wide6 model has been added to increase the number of models available for the “free phone” program to three.
Furthermore, SKT is also expanding the announced subsidies in addition to the conversion subsidies. On the 15th, SKT raised the announced subsidy level for the Samsung Galaxy S24 model to 480,000 KRW, an increase of 110,000 KRW from the previous amount, and for the Z Flip5 model to 580,000 KRW, which is an increase of 100,000 KRW.
In the future, SKT plans to rapidly establish a computer system to simplify the procedure for distributing conversion subsidies within the distribution network. Additionally, SKT stated that they will work with the Korea Communications Commission to eliminate distribution channels operating illegal subsidies known as ‘sacred places,’ ensuring that user discrimination and market confusion due to market overheating do not occur.
By Sang-Jin Lee daedusj@autodiary.kr