The government has launched a comprehensive investigation into overseas 'eSIMs' (embedded SIMs). This measure comes amid concerns that sensitive personal data could leak abroad through eSIMs used while traveling overseas.
According to the telecommunications industry on the 20th, the Ministry of Science and ICT began an investigation at the end of last month to examine how overseas eSIMs are imported and distributed in Korea, who the original telecom operators are, and other related issues.
Many travelers use eSIMs instead of domestic mobile carriers' international roaming services, opting for prepaid plans in the country they visit. Such overseas eSIMs can be easily purchased on online shopping platforms. The problem lies in the fact that the domestic company selling the eSIM, the overseas company providing the service, and the intermediary partner companies may all differ, creating ambiguity regarding data retention and management responsibilities.
Domestic sellers indirectly or directly purchase prepaid data packages from foreign telecom operators and resell them to local consumers. Consumers use their mobile phones by connecting to the partner networks of those foreign carriers when they are abroad. Although the name of the network operator appears on the phone, it is often a local partner carrier rather than the company that originally sold the data.
For example, when a domestic consumer purchases a low-cost eSIM usable across 10 Southeast Asian countries before traveling to Vietnam, the original telecom operator could be an unidentified carrier from China or Hong Kong. In such cases, consumers cannot identify the original telecom operator of the network they are using. Some industry voices have raised concerns that certain low-cost eSIMs route data through mainland China, posing a risk of personal data leakage.
Lee Jun-seok, a member of the Reform Party, pointed out these issues during the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Special Committee plenary session at the end of last month. He noted that if the network operator on a mobile phone displays 'CM Link,' it is highly likely that China Mobile's data is being used, and using such an eSIM could result in the device's unique identification information (IMEI, EID) being stored on Chinese servers.
In response, the Ministry of Science and ICT has launched an investigation to directly verify these allegations. A ministry official stated, "Overseas eSIMs used while abroad are not domestic services and thus fall outside the scope of our 'Telecommunications Business Act,' but since many domestic users are currently utilizing overseas eSIMs that provide effects similar to domestic roaming services, we are examining the situation closely."
An official from the Broadcasting Media and Communications Committee also remarked, "The 'Telecommunications Business Act' addresses whether fees or important matters were not disclosed to domestic users. We are comprehensively reviewing whether undisclosed original overseas carriers should be subject to pre-emptive regulation or post-facto penalties."
in TECH
