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SK Telecom's 2025 Profit Crashes 73% After Massive Data Breach

SK Telecom reported a staggering 73% year-on-year drop in its 2025 net profit, primarily due to costs from a massive data breach. The breach, disclosed in April, potentially exposed USIM data for all 25 million subscribers, leading to a costly replacement and compensation program. The company is also contesting a record 135 billion won fine imposed by South Korea's data protection regulator over the incident. Both annual and quarterly earnings were severely impacted by the breach-related expenses and a subsequent decline in subscribers.

Key Points: SK Telecom 2025 Profit Plunges 73% Due to Data Breach Costs

  • 73% annual net profit plunge
  • 1 trillion won compensation & security plan
  • 135 billion won regulator fine challenged
  • Data breach affected entire 25M user base
  • Quarterly profit also fell over 75%
2 min read

SK Telecom's 2025 net profit plunges 73 pc due to data breach

SK Telecom's net profit fell 73% in 2025, hit by massive compensation costs and fines after a data breach affecting 25 million users.

"annual net profit plunged 73 per cent from a year earlier in 2025 due mainly to massive compensation costs following a data breach - SK Telecom"

Seoul, Feb 5

SK Telecom, South Korea' leading mobile carrier, said on Thursday its annual net profit plunged 73 per cent from a year earlier in 2025 due mainly to massive compensation costs following a data breach that affected its entire 25 million-user base.

The company posted net profit of 375.1 billion won ($255.6 million) last year, compared with a profit of 1.39 trillion won in 2024, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Its operating income fell 41.1 percent on-year to 1.07 trillion won, and annual sales decreased 4.7 percent to 17.09 trillion won, reports Yonhap news agency.

For the fourth quarter of 2025, SK Telecom's net profit plummeted 75.4 percent on-year to 97 billion won.

Operating profit fell 53.1 percent to 119.1 billion won, and revenue decreased 4.1 percent to 4.32 trillion won.

SK Telecom said both its annual and quarterly earnings were weighed down by a compensation program and a decline in subscribers following a large-scale data breach.

The company reported in April that a cyberattack on its main servers may have exposed the universal subscriber identity module (USIM) data of its entire user base.

It later offered to replace the USIM chips of all 25 million users, along with a comprehensive compensation package and cybersecurity investment plan worth more than 1 trillion won, while suspending new subscription services for two months.

Last month, SK Telecom filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn a record 135 billion-won ($91 million) fine handed down by the state data protection regulator over a massive data leak last year that affected its entire 23 million user base.

SK Telecom filed the suit with the Seoul Administrative Court, just a day ahead of the deadline given to the company to seek a revocation of the decision by the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) made in August last year, according to the sources.

The PIPC had imposed the fine on SK Telecom about four months after the wireless carrier belatedly disclosed a major leak of universal subscriber identity module (USIM) data from its servers. The disclosure prompted the company to offer free USIM replacements to all of its users and an investigation by the regulator.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
A 73% drop in profit! That's what happens when you fail your customers. The compensation and fine are well-deserved. In India, we need stronger data protection laws and heavier penalties to deter such negligence. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act is a start, but enforcement is key. 🇮🇳
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Aman W
While the financial hit is huge, I respect that they at least owned up to it and offered replacements and compensation. How many companies here would do the same? Often we just get a vague apology email and that's it. Transparency matters.
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Sarah B
As someone who works in IT, this case study is terrifying. Replacing USIMs for 25 million users is a logistical nightmare and incredibly expensive. It shows the real-world cost of cutting corners on security. A trillion won is a steep price to pay for a lesson every tech firm should already know.
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Vikram M
They're still fighting the fine in court? That's poor form. They should accept the penalty, learn from it, and move on. The focus should be on regaining customer trust, not avoiding responsibility. This kind of attitude makes users nervous.
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Kavya N
This is why I'm always skeptical about sharing too much data with any company, be it telecom or apps. You never know when a breach will happen. We need to be more aware as consumers too. 🙏

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