New KT chief vows change, reflects on complacency

Kim Young-shub, the newly appointed CEO of KT, delivers a keynote speech at this year’s Mobile 360 Asia Pacific conference on Sep. 7. [Photo by Yonhap]

KT Corp., South Korean telecommunications giant, will explore innovation-driven new growth opportunities that go beyond the network business, its new chief executive said on Thursday.

“Telecommunications operators may have not been active in pursuing innovation and customer value while relying on providing stable infrastructure,” said Kim Young-shub, the newly appointed CEO of KT. “It’s time for us to change.”

Kim’s remarks were made during a keynote speech at this year’s Mobile 360 Asia Pacific conference organized by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) on Thursday. It was his first appearance since inauguration.

Kim’s candid assessment of the company and the industry came just eight days after taking office on August 30.

Kim pointed out that while telecommunications operators have been content with building network infrastructure and generating revenue from it, big tech companies have seized dominance in the digital ecosystem.

“While we have been focusing on securing proprietary networks aiming for passive revenue, big tech companies have become leaders in the digital ecosystem with their innovative services like messengers, streaming services, and autonomous driving,” Kim said.

The CEO warned that any failure to pursue changes may lead to forced innovation driven by external forces.

Kim outlined the areas of focus for KT to preempt future paradigms, including cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) customer service centers, security, metaverse, transportation, and mobility.

Regarding its traditional business area, he demonstrated a willingness to actively engage in technologies such as holographic communication, large-scale digital twins at the city or even national level, and quantum cryptography communication.

While acknowledging KT’s relatively minor presence in the business-to-consumer (B2C) service sector compared to global big tech companies, he noted that the company still has some opportunities to lead in new business areas like healthcare and smart cities, where no dominant leaders have emerged yet.

Kim also shared reshuffling plans for the company.

Commenting on the power cartel raised against the company, Kim iterated that the company will hire talents that align with the company’s goals and create a virtuous cycle structure.

Regarding potential mergers and acquisitions in the innovation sector, Kim explained that the goal is to expand KT’s ICT ecosystem through collaboration with leading companies in various specialized fields.

“We will focus on strengthening our foundation without being overly concerned with external revenue and operating profit growth,” Kim said.