Can foreigners switch carriers in Korea (MNP)? What is the process and what about contract penalties?
I am from Myanmar and have been with KT for one year. I heard switching to SKT or an MVNO can be cheaper. Can foreigners do MNP, and what additional documents besides the ARC do I need?
If my contract is still active, how much penalty will I pay when switching, and what should I watch out for when moving to an MVNO?
1 Answer
Foreigners can absolutely do number portability (MNP), as long as your Alien Registration Card is valid. When you move from KT to SKT or an MVNO your number stays the same, and all you really need is your ARC in your own name and a payment method. The catch is that if your contract period is not over, you will be charged a penalty (either a portion of the device subsidy or a discount clawback for the 25 percent selected-discount plan) proportional to the remaining term, so before switching, check the exact amount with KT customer service (114) or the app. The penalty generally shrinks as you near the end of your contract. Moving to an MVNO often cuts your bill by more than half, but watch out that some MVNOs do not allow foreigner sign-up fully online and ask for extra ID verification, and their customer service is mostly in Korean. MVNOs run by the major carriers' subsidiaries, like Hello Mobile, KT M Mobile, or SK 7 Mobile, tend to be smoother for foreigner sign-up and support.