South Korea's telecom watchdog said Wednesday it has yet to decide when to commence the business suspension of top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co., sparking criticism over preferential treatment.

About a month ago, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said it will slap SK Telecom with a seven-day suspension and a 23.5 billion-won (US$21.7 million) fine for giving out illegal subsidies to lure new subscribers.

The watchdog has been ramping up efforts to bring transparency to the market long distorted by subsidies far exceeding the legal ceiling to wrest subscribers away from competitors.

"We are discussing the issue and have yet to come up with a detailed period for the business suspension," a KCC official said.

"The timing will be fixed, depending on the overall market situation."

In March, the KC did not announce exactly when the suspension will be implemented, citing a possible negative impact on the country's economy, apparently taking Samsung Electronics Co.'s new Galaxy smartphones released this month into consideration.

Industry watchers said the KCC may take a wait-and-see approach on the business suspension on SK Telecom for the time being, possibly through July, as LG Electronics Inc. also plans to launch a new flagship this month.

"Apparently, the KCC is providing a favor to SK Telecom," an industry watcher said, adding the market's trust in the watchdog is deteriorating due to the prolonged delay in suspending the company.

SK Telecom accounted for 49.6 percent of the South Korean market as of end-February, standing as the No. 1 player, compared with KT Corp.'s 30.49 percent and LG Uplus Corp.'s 19.9 percent, the data released by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning showed. (Yonhap)