LG Uplus expands roaming, membership perks to ease customer costs this summer

LG Uplus announced Thursday that it is expanding its roaming and membership benefits for the summer vacation season and peak consumer period. The moves — covering free overseas voice calls, dining and leisure discounts, and programs for young and long-term customers — are aimed at reducing the financial burden on subscribers.

The benefit expansion is part of a cost-of-living stabilization package discussed at a July 23 meeting between the deputy prime minister for science and technology and the heads of the three major telecom carriers.

Particularly notable is the combination of immediately cost-saving perks — such as roaming and membership discounts — with cultural and tourism experience programs. LG Uplus has also tailored benefits by customer profile, including overseas travelers, young subscribers and long-term members, to broaden the range of options available.

To meet growing demand from overseas travelers during the summer season, LG Uplus is strengthening its roaming offerings. Through its AI call agent service ixi-O, the company will provide free overseas voice calls via the ixi-O Roaming Call feature. Customers using ixi-O can make and receive domestic and international voice calls abroad without paying separate call charges — and without signing up for a roaming plan — as long as they have a Wi-Fi connection.

Customers who have used the service said ixi-O Roaming Call allowed them to make calls abroad just as they would at home. In addition, families traveling overseas can receive an extra 3GB of data for the account holder when they sign up for a shared roaming pass. LG Uplus is also expanding tablet roaming support for customers visiting other countries.

Benefits for young customers are also being enhanced. LG Uplus will offer youth-tailored perks through its "Uth" membership program, including up to 2GB of data roaming support. The company will also run youth-focused programs that reflect demand for overseas travel and content consumption, including five exclusive benefits for customers visiting Japan.

LG Uplus also plans to hold a Uth AI Shorts Festival with a total purse of 100 million won ($68,200), with the top prize including an award from the deputy prime minister for science and technology and a trip to an AI training program in Los Angeles. The company said it will continue expanding cultural and experiential programs for young customers to strengthen the overall customer experience.

Everyday lifestyle benefits are being expanded as well. Starting in August, LG Uplus will offer a total of 52 benefits across dining, food and beverage, shopping, culture and leisure through its U+ Membership program "U+2PPLE."

Discounts in the dining, shopping and leisure categories have been significantly enhanced. Benefits include a 25 percent discount at Outback Steakhouse, 50 percent off at Domino's Pizza, up to 9,000 won off a family-size order at Baskin-Robbins, coupons worth up to 27,000 won at Kurly, 50 percent off at Ocean World and 55 percent off at Seoul Land. New partner brands — including Longblack, Milkin and Icon Golf — have also been added.

Alongside the membership discounts, LG Uplus is expanding experiential benefits tied to regional festivals and tourism programs, including a water party event at Legoland Korea in Chuncheon and an experience program at Hwadamsup. The company will also roll out differentiated benefits in the second half of this year for customers who have subscribed for 10 or more years and for VVIP membership holders.

In August, LG Uplus will hold a full-house invitation event for the musical "Dear Evan Hansen," inviting a total of 1,100 customers. The company said it plans to keep expanding customer-focused experiential programs to boost satisfaction among long-term subscribers.

"We have expanded benefits that customers can genuinely feel in their daily lives during the summer vacation season and peak consumer period," an LG Uplus official said. "We will continue to broaden the range of customer benefits that reflect how our customers use our services and live their lives."