The company will first link with the hit wall-mounted drum washing machine "Mini," which has sold over 100,000 units, and then expand its range of compatible devices.

SK Telecom signed a business partnership with Dongbu Daewoo Electronics, one of Korea's top three global home appliance manufacturers, on the 15th to launch products linked to smart home services.

Dongbu Daewoo Electronics is a global home appliance company with four domestic and international production bases and over 40 overseas sales bases. The company is experiencing continuous growth not only domestically but also in emerging markets such as Eastern Europe, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia, and is particularly recognized for its competitiveness in small home appliances.

Through this agreement, the two companies plan to initially integrate smart home services into the Mini, a global best-selling drum washing machine. Launched in 2012 as the world's first wall-mounted model, the Mini has enjoyed immense popularity overseas, being selected as one of the top 10 leading products in the Chinese washing machine market in 2015. This product has recently surpassed 100,000 units in cumulative domestic sales, gaining popularity among single-person households, newlyweds, and families with young children in Korea.

The integration of small appliances specifically designed for single-person households and newlyweds is expected to expand the reach of home IoT services.

Scheduled for release in the first half of next year, the smart home-integrated "Mini" will offer differentiated convenience through remote control via SK Telecom's smart home app, as well as laundry completion notifications and weather-linked laundry index information. The two companies plan to expand the smart home-integrated lineup to include key Dongbu Daewoo Electronics products, including refrigerators, air conditioners, and dehumidifiers.

SK Telecom has already signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with major global home appliance companies Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics to develop commercial products for smart home collaboration. Therefore, this partnership with Dongbu Daewoo Electronics, which focuses on practical home appliances, is expected to further expand the base of its smart home platform.

SK Telecom's strategy is to lead the home IoT industry and significantly strengthen customer service by expanding the number of smart home-linked products to 25 within this year, 85 by the first half of next year, and 100 by the end of the year.

From a service perspective, we are providing the nation's highest level of intelligent functions, such as predicting situations and environments in advance by linking with location information, weather information, and personal assistant platforms, and learning customers' lifestyle patterns to provide personalized suggestions. We also plan to continuously incorporate cutting-edge technologies such as machine learning and voice recognition in the future.

SK Telecom's Smart Home TF Director Cho Young-hoon said, "Through this partnership, we can now control all home appliances, from large to small, with a single smart home service." He added, "We will not only expand the number of linked products but also provide services that read customers' minds so that we can become a true leader in home IoT services." He said, “We will strive to improve.”

In addition, Kim Hyuk-pyo, Vice President and Head of Product Planning Team at Dongbu Daewoo Electronics, said, “We believe that a business partnership with SK Telecom’s smart home platform is essential for advancing into the high-efficiency, smart home appliance sector,” and “We plan to use this agreement as a bridgehead for developing into a ‘cutting-edge comprehensive home appliance company.’”