4 Trillion Investment and 300 Billion Won Level Win-Win Support... Telecom Industry Rolls Up Sleeves for COVID-19 Damage

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] "More practical support measures are needed. (Park Jung-ho, President of SK Telecom)"

The telecommunications industry's COVID-19 relief measures, totaling 300 billion KRW, did not stop at providing operating funds such as monthly rent to frontline agencies. They also include early payment of 150 billion KRW to external partners and a 50% increase in investment scale in the first half of the year. This reflects the judgment that mutual growth with partners and investment to revitalize the economy are more important than ever in times of crisis.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT and the industry on the 6th, the day before, Minister Choi Ki-young and the representatives of the three major telecom companies discussed a 300 billion KRW support plan through an emergency video conference.

First, SK Telecom announced a 113 billion KRW mutual growth plan. This includes early payment of agency incentives (35 billion KRW), distribution network operating expenses (4 billion KRW), and a one-month extension of the payment deadline for mobile phone purchase payments for agencies in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions (40 billion KRW).

A notable point is the mutual growth plan for external partners who are striving to maintain service quality. SK Telecom will make early payments of 23 billion KRW and 10 billion KRW this month to partners responsible for network infrastructure construction and maintenance, respectively. SK Broadband also decided to advance support by 11 billion KRW for construction payments and service fees. This decision reflects the concerns of the CEOs of the three telecom companies that more practical support measures are needed.

KT will also provide mutual growth support worth 104 billion KRW. Following the previously announced 5 billion KRW support for monthly rent and business policies, an additional 8 billion KRW in policy support funds was added for about 1,400 agencies nationwide. It also includes extensions of mobile phone purchase payment deadlines (24.1 billion KRW) and operating fund support (15 billion KRW). For small and medium-sized partners, KT plans to advance payments totaling 44 billion KRW, including 36 billion KRW for construction payments and 8 billion KRW for material payments. KT Group companies also announced support measures worth 5.5 billion KRW.

LG Uplus prepared support measures worth 85 billion KRW. They expanded the mutual growth fund for partners by 25 billion KRW and will make early payments of up to 50 billion KRW for delivery payments. An LG Uplus official explained, "The funds required for supporting small-scale self-employed businesses and nationwide agencies amount to about 10 billion KRW." Earlier this month, they also supported 100 mobile phones for medical staff in Daegu and Gyeongbuk.

In addition, the telecommunications industry plans to expand the first half investment scale, originally around 2.7 trillion KRW, to the 4 trillion KRW level. The goal is to revitalize the sluggish economy through this. Furthermore, they plan to promote fee reductions for mobile phone and high-speed internet services targeting small business owners and self-employed people in economically affected areas.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.