SKT CEO lays out new roadmap to achieve success in AI era

SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang laid out a road map to generate growth through its AI investments as the company shifts to integrate the new technology on a core level.

SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang speaks at an internal town hall meeting with the employees at SK Telecom's T Tower in central Seoul on Thursday. [SK TELECOM]

The chief of SK Telecom, Korea's biggest mobile carrier, emphasized the need for a corporate refocus to achieve profitability in the burgeoning AI sector.

The remarks by CEO Ryu Young-sang on Thursday come amid the mobile carrier’s continued ventures to expand its global network and investments related to AI.

“Over the past three years, we have manifested our AI pyramid strategy, and now it’s time to think about how to generate revenue through AI,” Ryu said at an internal town hall meeting to discuss plans for strengthening the company’s AI business strategy. “We need to enhance the competitiveness of AI growth areas, including AI data centers, to ultimately achieve the AI transformation of the existing telco business model.”

SKT's AI road map is twofold: in the short term, advance business models for the AI-powered business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) sectors, and in the long term, to complete the transition of its telco operations to AI.

To achieve this goal, Ryu proposed three key restructuring tasks: to streamline and focus the company's business portfolio to center on telecommunications and AI, to simultaneously improve competitiveness in the two sectors, and to create a flexible and robust corporate culture.

“Pursuing AI business and strengthening fundamental competitiveness simultaneously means that we are set on achieving both a global AI company and a world-class telecommunications company,” Ryu concluded.

Earlier this month, the company announced its largest AI-related investment of $200 million in U.S. enterprise technology company Smart Global Holdings. The deal will enable the two companies to collaborate on the construction and maintenance of data centers, as well as the establishment of AI-related infrastructure.

With B2B, SKT wants to strengthen synergies with businesses under SK affiliates in AI customer service and support centers and energy solutions, as well as expand cooperation with global Big Tech companies.

In B2C, SKT plans to advance core functions of its AI personal assistant "A." and expand the company’s service areas to mobile network operations, media, communications and mobility.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]