SK Telecom (CEO Park Jung-ho) will transform into an AI and digital infrastructure service company by focusing on digital infrastructure such as telecommunications and artificial intelligence through its spin-off from SK Square.

SKT announced that it held a temporary shareholders' meeting at the Supex Hall in its headquarters T Tower on the 12th and approved the SK Telecom-SK Square split plan.

Based on the number of shares in attendance, the approval rate for the spin-off proposal was 99.95%, and the approval rate for the stock split proposal was 99.96%, receiving overwhelming support from not only institutions including the National Pension Service but also individual shareholders.

SK Telecom and SK Square are scheduled to launch anew on November 1st (the spin-off date). The current SK Telecom will undergo a stock trading suspension period (October 26 to November 26) and will be relisted and renamed SK Telecom and SK Square, respectively, on November 29.

CEO Park Jeong-ho stated, “The primary goal of the company split is to maximize shareholder value. Following the split, we will quickly build a successful business model with a clear focus on communications and investment. We will ensure that the value of our portfolio, which we have nurtured so far, is recognized even further in the market and return this to our shareholders.”

SK Telecom plans to transform into an AI and digital infrastructure services company, increasing annual revenue from 15 trillion won in 2020 to 22 trillion won by 2025. The company plans to focus on its three core businesses: wired and wireless communications, AI-based services, and digital infrastructure services.

The wired and wireless communications business plans to solidify its leadership in 5G and continue the growth of media services.

The AI-based service will evolve the subscription service 'T Universe', which was launched in August and has been well-received, into an online and offline subscription commerce platform, and will expand the scale of the metaverse business linked with the metaverse platform 'ifland'.

The digital infrastructure service business plans to actively expand its high-growth data center, cloud, and industrial IoT businesses by utilizing 5G MEC (mobile edge computing) and other technologies.

SK Telecom has subsidiaries such as SK Broadband, SK Telink, PS&Marketing, F&U Credit Information, Service Top, Service Ace, and SK O&S, which can create synergy in wired and wireless communication businesses.

SK Square is launched as a semiconductor and ICT investment company. The vision is to increase the current net asset value of 26 trillion won to 75 trillion won by 2025, approximately three times, based on the investment success DNA accumulated through investments in semiconductor and ICT platform businesses.

True to its name, which means "square" or "plaza," the company plans to revitalize the entire Korean ICT industry through bold, preemptive investments based on its key portfolio assets, including semiconductors, media, security, and commerce.

As a listed company, SK Square has the advantage of allowing general shareholders to participate in the company's investment activities, unlike other unlisted investment companies (PE, Private Equity).

SK Square will be comprised of 16 companies. These companies include SK Hynix, ADT Caps, 11st, T Map Mobility, One Store, Content Wave, Dreamus Company, SK Planet, FSK L&S, Incross, NanoEntek, Spark Plus, SK Telecom CST1, SK Telecom TMT Investment, ID Quantique, and Techmaker.

Various stakeholders, including shareholders, have shown unwavering support for SK Telecom's efforts to enhance shareholder value this year. Accordingly, SK Telecom's current stock price has risen by approximately 30% compared to the beginning of the year.

SK Telecom first formally announced its intention to pursue a spin-off in April of this year, clearly stating its goal of accelerating future growth and enhancing shareholder value by fully evaluating the company's value.

In addition, in May, the company virtually burned all of its 8.69 million treasury shares (10.8% of the total number of issued shares), and in June, the board of directors resolved to carry out a 6:4 split of SK Telecom and SK Square and a 5:1 stock split, continuing its efforts to enhance shareholder value.

SK Telecom recently completed the submission of a securities registration statement to the financial authorities and confirmed the new company's name as "SK Square." The spin-off was approved by shareholders at the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders held today (the 12th). SK Telecom and SK Square are scheduled to launch on November 1st and list on the stock market on November 29th.

Meanwhile, at the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders held on this day, the agenda for the appointment of other non-executive directors of SK Telecom (the surviving company) (Choi Gyu-nam, current head of the future business team at the SK Supex Pursuit Council) was also passed.