Moving on to the outlook for the fourth quarter. It is a short-term outlook, but we need to be more cautious because the fourth quarter is typically when seasonal factors lead to higher expenses, including outsourcing service costs, advertising expenses, and other fees. However, when we look at the overall picture, major operating expenses such as marketing and depreciation has been quite stable. So we are focusing on improving our earnings on a year-over-year basis. Another factor will be macroeconomic and macro external uncertainty. And recently, external uncertainties are growing due to global interest rate hikes to respond to rising inflation and unstable global geopolitics triggered by Israel-Hamas war following the war in Ukraine. But as you may know, our business and our cost structure has only limited exposure to external risks such as inflation, interest rates, and exchange rates.
So we will utilize our management resources and capabilities to make sure that our earnings in the future will be managed stably. Moving on to your second question. As you mentioned, roaming has been a major driver of our revenue growth. So with respect to the recent recovery trend of roaming revenue as well as related outlook, I’d like to hand over to Mr. Kim Ji Hyung, Head of Integrated Marketing Strategy Office.
Kim Ji Hyung: Hello, I’m Kim Ji Hyung, Head of Integrated Marketing Strategy Office. For the first time since the pandemic roaming revenue is expected to recover to the pre-COVID level. While the number of overseas travelers in this quarter is just 76% of the number before the pandemic in 2019, roaming usage has increased 1.5x, so this year’s roaming revenue is expected to surpass the 2019 level. We believe that this result is attributed to customer base expansion through marketing efforts that help customers pay less such as increasing data at existing rates and family roaming promotions. Since launched in June, the youth price plan has gained nearly 280,000 users cumulatively, and this plan offers 50% discount for roaming, resulting in a twofold increase in roaming usage by customers younger than the age of 34, a segment which did not really use roaming much in the past.
Furthermore, almost half of first-time roaming users continue to use roaming for next trips. Therefore, the current growth in roaming usage is not just contributing to revenue recovery in 2023, but also is expected to become a major growth driver in terms of revenue in the medium to long term. We will continue to introduce affordable price plans and convenience services to make T Roaming a necessity for overseas travel. Thank you.
Operator: So the last question will be presented by Hoi Jae Kim from Daishin Securities.
Hoi Jae Kim: I’m Kim Hoi Jae from Daishin Securities. Today, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced measures to lessen the communications-related burden for citizens. So in this regard, I’d like to know if you have any plans to introduce allow 5G handsets to use LTE price plans? And how is this going to impact your overall trend of 5G subscriber acquisition in the future? And I’d also like to know if you have any plans to offer more affordable lower-end 5G price plans in the future?
Jin-won Kim: Back in July, the government announced measures to facilitate competition in the telecom market. We have been implementing our market operations strategy, which is based on leading market competition and expanding the base of 5G services by constantly increasing customers’ choices and benefits. We mentioned at the previous earnings call that these business strategies and activities are well aligned with the government’s policy goals and directions, which aim to increase benefits for users by promoting competition over service quality. So from this perspective, regarding today’s government announcement, in an environment where 5G subscribers continue to grow, we are positively considering to sign up for LTE price plans with 5G handsets and vice versa to promote benefits for users. And regarding more details, I’d like to hand over to Mr. Kim Ji Hyung, Head of Integrated Marketing Strategy Office.
