The Broadcasting Media Communications Commission imposed a 640 million won fine on KT for telling customers it was possible to buy during Galaxy S25 pre-orders without disclosing that supply was limited.

The Broadcasting Media Communications Commission held its seventh committee meeting of 2026 on May 8 and approved corrective measures over KT's violations of the Telecommunications Business Act.

The commission judged that KT violated Article 50 of the Telecommunications Business Act by falsely notifying users of important matters during customer solicitation and restricting service subscriptions without just cause.

The commission had earlier conducted a fact-finding probe into the overall benefits and conditions offered to users beyond subsidies after KT began running a pre-order period to recruit users for the newly released Galaxy S25 from February last year.

The probe found that when taking Galaxy S25 pre-orders on KT.com, KT had provided a common event notice saying customers could receive benefits unless a separate closing notice was displayed, but it limited participation to the first 1,000 people.

KT claimed the omission was due to a simple mistake by an employee in charge. KT later unilaterally cancelled contracts of 7,127 people who applied for pre-orders through a YouTuber (Alright Studio) and Genie TV, soliciting users with false notices that differed from the facts.

The 7,127 people whose pre-orders were cancelled had completed identity verification and entered payment methods such as card information as part of the service contract process. Even though they could have received the actual service, KT restricted subscriptions without just cause.

The commission said it took issue with KT's false notice of the headcount limit, which could directly affect contract decisions to recruit Galaxy S25 users, and with its restriction on subscriptions by cancelling 7,127 people who had completed the service contract process.

It approved corrective orders, including requiring KT to clearly disclose so users can easily check additional benefits provided beyond subsidies at the time of pre-orders, and decided to impose a 640 million won fine.

Kim Jong-cheol (김종철), the commission's chairman, said, "We will thoroughly inspect practices that harm user interests when signing up for mobile services, and we will strengthen checks so these decisions are properly implemented, so that people have no inconvenience in using services."