Demand for mobile numbers to peak in 2032, no shortage expected

Demand for cellphone numbers in South Korea is expected to peak in 2032, but it will not lead to a shortage due to the projected population decline in the country, a government reported projected Friday.

The need for mobile numbers beginning with the "010" is expected to reach 64.57 million by then, according to the Korea Information Society Development Institute's projections submitted to Rep. Choi Soo-jin of the ruling People Power Party. This would be 80.7 percent of the possible number combinations.

Currently, all new mobile phone numbers in South Korea are issued using the code 010, due to a government policy in 2004 that banned new issuances of mobile phone numbers starting with other codes, such as 011 or 016. Services for the handful of older such numbers that had existed since before 2004 have gradually wrapped up over the past years.

As of October 2023, 63.7 million mobile phone numbers are in use. Out of 80 million number combinations that are potentially useable under the current standards, 73.92 million have already been allocated to mobile carriers for use.

Despite new numbers being issued each day, the KISDI expects that demand will not exceed the current maximum combination of phone numbers. South Korea's population is estimated to be around 51.75 million as of September, but it has been slowly declining since it marked a decrease in December 2020 for the first time in recorded history.

"Research shows no severe threat of the 010 numbers running out, but it does not consider the possibility of one person using multiple numbers. The government needs careful management of the limited mobile number supply," Choi said.

There are a substantial number of South Koreans using multiple mobile phones, as demonstrated by the fact that the number of mobile phone numbers here significantly exceeds the total population.

Government officials have suggested the use of 020 if the current format results in a number shortage, but also said the possibility of that happening is low.