KT is seeing faster subscriber departures after it decided to waive contract termination fees in the wake of an unauthorized small-payment incident. More than 100,000 subscribers left over a week.

The telecoms industry said on Jan. 7 that a total of 107,499 KT subscribers switched their numbers to other carriers from Dec. 31, when the fee waiver began, through Jan. 6.

On Jan. 6 alone, 28,444 KT subscribers switched. That topped the previous day’s 26,394, which reflected activations from Sunday when systems were offline, marking a record daily total.

Of those who left KT that day, 17,106 moved to SK Telecom. Subscribers moving to LG Uplus totaled 7,325, and 4,013 moved to budget carriers (MVNOs).

On a cumulative basis, the shift to SK Telecom stands out. Of those leaving KT from Dec. 31 to Jan. 6, 73.2 percent of subscribers who moved to the three major carriers chose SK Telecom. Including customers who moved to MVNOs, 64 percent moved to SK Telecom.

Market competition is also overheating. The three telecoms carriers have offered higher subsidies than before to attract subscribers. Some distribution channels are also reported to have introduced so-called 'travel-expense phones' that add cash incentives. The industry expects the subscriber migration to continue through the 13th, when KT’s fee-waiver period ends.