Phone Subsidy Law Repealed, One Year Later: What to Check Before You Buy -- Subsidies Are Bigger, But So Are the Bills

What actually changed when the law was repealed

Before the repeal, carriers had to publicly disclose their monthly subsidy amounts, and additional subsidies added by dealers and retailers were capped at 15% of the disclosed subsidy. After the repeal, both the disclosure requirement and the 15% cap disappeared. In exchange, the 25% plan-discount option (seontaek-yakjeong) stayed in place -- and unlike before, when customers had to choose either the disclosed subsidy or the 25% discount, customers can now sign up for the 25% discount and still receive the dealer's additional subsidy on top of it.

Some buyers get bigger subsidies now; others see no change at all

Removing the cap also means subsidy amounts can now vary wildly from store to store, and customer to customer. According to reporting from August 2026, one year after the repeal the market has developed what's being called "blackout subsidies" -- amounts that aren't disclosed store to store and instead depend on how hard a customer negotiates. Shoppers who compare quotes across several stores can now land bigger subsidies than before, while customers who walk into one store and sign tend to get comparatively worse terms.

The device got cheaper, but the monthly bill may have gone up

Analysis citing data submitted to the National Assembly found that after the repeal, low-income households' upfront device costs fell by roughly 44%, but their monthly service charges actually rose. That's because bigger subsidies often come with a condition to stay on a specific plan for a set period, and that plan is frequently a pricier tier than the one that used to anchor the disclosed subsidy. In other words, even if you pay less on day one, if the following one to two years carry a higher monthly bill, the total cost can end up higher than before.

The 25% plan discount hasn't gone anywhere

One savings option that's held up reliably through all of this is the 25% plan discount (seontaek-yakjeong). Whether you buy an unlocked device or simply don't like a store's subsidy conditions, signing up for the 25% discount still knocks a quarter off your monthly bill. Since it's now possible to keep the 25% discount and still collect the dealer's extra subsidy, it's worth double-checking if a store tells you the old line that "choosing the discount means giving up the subsidy."

Three things to confirm before you walk into a store

Because subsidy amounts are now set store by store, before signing anything you should pin down: ①how many months you're required to stay on which plan to qualify for the subsidy, ②how much more expensive that required plan is than what you'd normally choose, and ③whether the 25% discount still applies on top of the subsidy. Cancelling before the required plan-holding period often triggers a penalty-style refund charge, so photographing the contract's condition clauses is also a simple way to avoid disputes later.

Legwork is now worth real money

Back when disclosure was mandatory, subsidies didn't vary much between stores, so comparison shopping barely mattered. Now, comparing two or three stores for the exact same model can turn up subsidy differences of several hundred thousand won, according to real reports. Checking prices through online communities in addition to carrier-branded stores, and collecting quotes from multiple retailers, matters far more than it used to. Because subsidies tied to an expensive required plan can actually cost more in total, it's worth calculating the full cost over the contract period rather than just looking at the subsidy figure.

Worth checking next

While you're switching phones, it's also worth confirming how to re-enroll in the 25% discount once your current term ends so you don't lose it by accident, and if you're worried about penalty fees, making sure your new phone's backup actually completes before you hand over your old one can save a headache. And if you're ever concerned that a line was opened under your name without your knowledge, checking your registration status through M-safer is worth doing at the same time.

Putting it in order

①Don't sign at the first store -- compare subsidy conditions at two or three places. ②Check whether the subsidy requires staying on a specific plan, and whether that plan costs more than what you'd normally pick. ③Ask the store directly whether the 25% discount still applies alongside the subsidy. ④Check the contract for the required plan-holding period and any early-cancellation refund charge. ⑤Calculate the total cost over the full contract term, not just the size of the subsidy.