SKT President Yoo Young-sang announced at a press conference at MWC 22 on the 28th that the company would 본격화 (intensify) its global expansion into the three major 'Next Big-techs (Metaverse, AI semiconductors, and quantum cryptography).'



SKT Next Big-tech to Enter Global Market in Earnest
Aiming to simultaneously achieve global expansion and new growth by reorganizing into five major business groups

SK Telecom (CEO and President Yoo Young-sang) revealed its ambition at MWC 22 to lay the foundation for leading South Korea's next-generation global ICT by accelerating the global expansion of three major 'Next Big-techs (Metaverse, AI semiconductors, and quantum cryptography).'

SK Telecom held a press conference on the 28th (local time) in Barcelona, Spain, where MWC22 was being held.

SKT stated that the themes of 'Metaverse, AI semiconductors, and quantum cryptography' showcased over the past three years since the commercialization of 5G received significant attention from global ICT Big Players at this MWC.

In addition, he explained the reorganization of the five major business groups to simultaneously achieve the goals of global expansion and increased corporate sustainability.

■ SKT's In-house Metaverse Platform 'iFLAND' Convenience Upgrade

SKT announced that its metaverse service 'Ifland' plans to actively expand into global markets in 80 countries this year.

'Ifland' is a communication platform produced in-house by SKT, receiving over 1,500 partnership requests in Korea.

At the MWC22 exhibition hall, SKT showcased the global 'Ifland' development version and the 'HMD (Head Mounted Display)' version, developed to expand the scope of users' metaverse experience.

SKT announced that it will enhance user convenience by upgrading the 'e-friend' platform to an open model and opening a virtual marketplace utilizing crypto (NFT/blockchain) technology.

■ Aiming to achieve cumulative sales of 2 trillion won by 2027 in collaboration with AI semiconductor company Sapion

SKT announced that it would launch a next-generation successor model of its AI semiconductor by early 2023.

SKT launched the AI semiconductor 'SAPEON X220' in November 2020 and established SAPEON in the U.S. earlier this year through a joint investment by three companies, including SK Square and SK Hynix.

SKT stated that it will secure commercial use cases in various fields by collaborating with SAPEON, a recently spun-off AI semiconductor specialist, to expand its presence in the global AI semiconductor sector this year.

SKT announced that it plans to grow into a company with cumulative sales of 2 trillion won and an enterprise value of 10 trillion won by 2027 through the launch of next-generation AI semiconductors and aggressive global expansion.

■ Application of 'IDQ'-based quantum cryptography in telecommunications, finance, and public sectors worldwide

SKT's quantum cryptography company acquired in 2018He stated that based on the alcohol company 'IDQ', they are creating use cases for quantum cryptography in major countries around the world.

SKT applied quantum cryptography communication to a 221km section of its 5G backbone network for the first time in the world in 2019, and in 2020, launched the world's first QRNG (Quantum Random Number Generator) phone, 'Galaxy A Quantum,' with Samsung Electronics.

In addition, the 'Quantum Cryptography Network Integrated Management Standard (ETSI GS QKD-018)' proposed by SKT at the end of 2021 was approved by the Industry Standards Group under the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).

SKT announced that it plans to expand sales of existing products, such as QRNG and QKD (Quantum Key Distribution), and expand its business into new security-related areas, including blockchain and quantum cryptography solutions, this year.

■ Reorganization of 5 Major Business Groups, Global Expansion, and New Growth Plans

SKT announced that it has reorganized its business sectors into five major business groups: wired and wireless communications, media, enterprise, AIVERSE, and connected intelligence.

'Wired and wireless communication' strengthens global competitiveness based on 5G leadership.

'Media' expands to the entire value chain, including content-centric, T-commerce, and advertising businesses.

'Enterprise' will pursue business advancements such as expanding the scale of data centers and global expansion, cloud services utilizing 5G MEC technology, AI-based IoT, and smart factories.

'AIVERSE' introduces AI services such as the subscription product 'T-Space', the metaverse, and AI agents.

'Connected Intelligence' plays a role in connecting next-generation devices such as UAM, robots, and autonomous vehicles. In fact, SKT signed a strategic business agreement with global UAM aircraft manufacturer Joby Aviation last month to pursue super-cooperation with a powerful global company and participated in a government demonstration project.

SKT CEO Yoo Young-sang stated, “I am confident that the overseas expansion of SKT 2.0, which will begin in earnest starting with the metaverse, AI semiconductors, and quantum cryptography, will serve as a foundation for South Korea, an ICT powerhouse, to lead the next-generation global ICT market,” adding, “We will continue to introduce differentiated technologies and services that will be well-received worldwide.”