SK Telecom has been hit with another service suspension after regulator KCC found that the operator had been again offering illegal subsidies for new subscribers.
The KCC asserts that SK Telecom offered an average of 228,000 won ($206) beyond the current 300,000 won subsidy ceiling for subsidies during the month of January, Yonhap Newsreported.
In the case of some new iPhone 6 subscribers, the illegal subsidies reached 500,000 won, the regulator said.
The KCC has ordered SK Telecom pay a 23.5 billion won fine and be suspended from signing up new customers for seven days.
But the timing of the suspension has not yet ben decided, because Samsung is due to launch the next in its Galaxy line of smartphones next month, and so a suspension at this time could have a negative impact on consumers.
In a statement, SK Telecom stated that the regulator's decision to focus this investigation solely on SK Telecom was “extremely regrettable” considering overall market conditions.
This marks the latest service suspension Korean authorities have imposed over excessive subsidies. Last year, the government handed all three of South Korea's operators rolling 45-day bans on signing up new customers, while the KCC slapped its own seven day suspension on SK Telecom and a 14 day suspension on LG U+.