[W Frontier] "Immerse Yourself, Build Stamina, and Become an Ojilaper"

Workloads Must Overlap to Avoid Defects
Be a Nosy Person with a Long View and Broad Perspective
Lead Change by Overcoming Challenges in Speech Recognition Technology

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] "When it comes to work, I hope to become an 'Ojiraper' (a person who is inquisitive and proactive). Not just doing the tasks assigned to me and finishing, but also sharing the concerns of the party who gave the task, worrying about issues in other fields, and having a broad perspective and insight so that one task can be seamlessly and tightly connected without gaps."

◆ "Become an Ojiraper" = This is the request of Lee Hyun-ah, head of SK Telecom’s AI Service Business Unit (pictured). In the era of 'super' cooperation and ICT convergence, dividing work into silos and focusing on only one area leads to limitations. Lee’s motto is that "all members must become Ojirapers so that work overlaps and overlaps, resulting in flawless and complete services."

In October 2016, she moved from Naver, where she had worked for 10 years, to SK Group. She immediately entered the AI platform market, which was about to enter a Warring States period. SK Telecom was the first in Korea to launch the AI platform NUGU, creating a stir. While Apple introduced Siri (2011), Google launched Google Now (2012), and Amazon Alexa (2017), the domestic market was almost a barren land at that time.

NUGU approached 4 million monthly active users (MAU) within two years of launch and expanded its frontlines to navigation (T map), set-top boxes (BTV), and T phone, shaking up the AI service market. Lee personally took care of all customer voices (VOC) meticulously and addressed areas for improvement. She said, "Ultimately, the end picture is the platform. I want to expand the platform by integrating AI into customer touchpoints like T map and T phone and link it with various vertical businesses. Ultimately, I dream of 'AI Everywhere.'"

◆ To the forefront of the market = Lee Hyun-ah began her career in 1995 at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI). She participated in the government project '21st Century Sejong Plan,' creating a database of 200 million morphemes (bundles of words input and stored for computer recognition). She started her career from the 'zero' point of AI voice recognition technology by working on automatic processing of machine-recognizable language information.

Leaving ETRI to move to the private sector was a significant turning point in her life. In 1997, leaving a government-funded research institute, known as the 'best workplace for women,' to join a private company was an unusual challenge. Voice recognition was not yet advanced; it was at a rudimentary level like ARS or call centers. It was a choice that looked like a 'bet.' She steadily built her career at voice recognition companies such as SnL, L&H, Voicetek, and Coavoice. She often heard, "Why suffer when you have a good job?" Yet, when asked why she moved to the private sector, she answered, "I wanted to work in the commercial (market) sector." While technology transfer at government institutes was meaningful, she wanted to commercialize technology and meet customers who used the services. She recalled, "Technologies like voice recognition and synthesis develop more through commercialization and consumer feedback, making it very interesting. I wanted to meet vivid consumer data. I had no choice but to go to the field."

Lee especially said, "I have never identified myself as 'female' while working." She said, "I only had the desire to succeed by fully utilizing my capabilities, having studied this much and working in society. There was no room for 'gender' in that thought." She emphasized, "Wanting to succeed through work was a roadmap that any human being should naturally have."

◆ Overcoming crises wisely = After moving to the private sector, there were challenges. Before smartphones and deep learning, voice recognition technology in the early 2000s was crude compared to today. Consumer expectations were high, but technology lagged. The voice recognition technology boom centered on startups in the late 1990s sharply declined around 2000. It was a moment when she clearly saw the 'limit' of the industry she had bet her life on. The company also faced difficulties but was not shaken much. She said, "Whenever hard times came, I kept telling myself, 'I cannot just give up like this,' and believed that only difficulties I could handle would come to me. Looking back, that was always true."

In fact, around 2010, with the smartphone market booming, deep learning starting, and microphone performance improving, voice recognition technology began to make a quantum leap. Accordingly, Lee pioneered 'voice search' technology at Naver in 2010 and was able to create the AI platform NUGU at SK Telecom in 2016. She recalled, "Voice recognition showed clear limits in the early 2000s due to high device dependency, but it rapidly developed with the advent of smartphones. I think I was at the center of a tremendous change, was led by change, and also led change."

◆ "Immerse yourself and build stamina" = Although she has held various positions to reach her current role, what Lee values most in work is 'immersion.' She never aimed for promotion or worked to be recognized by anyone but purely tried to make her assigned field the best quality, which led her to her current position. She said, "When you try to do your given work to the maximum and highest level, you meet supervisors and executives who recognize that, and naturally, titles follow."

When asked what she wants to say to future female leaders, she began, "I want to urge them to manage their stamina." She continued, "I have seen many women whose homes are not places to rest after work but places where they have to do housework. Childbirth, childcare, and housework are not easy. Most women who drop out do so because of stamina issues. But you cannot give up like that. You have to endure long-term. I want to tell (female juniors) to be very ambitious in all self-management activities to balance their stamina."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Who is Lee’s mentor? Her boss who gives 'full support'... Park Jung-ho, CEO of SK Telecom

"You are a powerful general to me. Become a commander who can win."

When asked about her mentor, Lee Hyun-ah, head of SK Telecom’s AI Service Unit, shared words from Park Jung-ho, CEO of SK Telecom. Lee said, "I think the greatest mentoring is the relationship with a boss who gives full support and trust. The moment I heard the CEO call me a 'general,' I set my determination to truly become a general and decided to be a strength as a general."

CEO Park Jung-ho places infinite trust and support in the AI Service Unit led by Lee. At the end of last year’s organizational restructuring, the AI Service Platform Unit was separated from the AI Center, and the AI Service Unit led by Lee was placed directly under the CEO. This was evaluated inside and outside SK Telecom as a 'selection and concentration' strategy for AI commercialization. Lee said, "He often says 'become a general' in meetings, so whenever I face difficulties in business, I always recall those words. I think I have already become a 'general,' so I believe I can do anything."

Indeed, the AI Service Unit stands at the center of SK Telecom’s transformation and innovation into an ICT company and the new industry beyond telecommunications. At the 'NUGU Conference 2020' held on the 20th, CEO Park expressed strong trust and pride in the AI Service Unit, saying, "We pride ourselves on holding the top position in domestic AI."

Because of this, Lee feels that the four years since joining SK Planet in 2016 have been the most intense period in her 25-year career. She aggressively pioneers the market in the AI service field and takes pride in leading the forefront of new industries in an ICT company, going to work every day with confidence. She said, "Although it’s been four years, it feels like I have spent 14 years by adding 10 more. With the CEO’s trust and belief, I was able to make the best decisions quickly through many concerns and changes. I will continue to sprint for AI Everywhere," she said with a smile.

[Profile of Lee Hyun-ah, Head of SK Telecom AI Service Unit]

▲ 1995 Joined Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) ▲ 1999 Researcher at SnL ▲ 2000 Manager at L&H ▲ 2001 Researcher at Voicetek ▲ 2004 Researcher at Coavoice ▲ 2006 Senior Manager at Naver ▲ 2016 Head of Conversational Commerce Division at SK Planet ▲ 2017 Head/Unit Leader of AI Technology Division 2 at SK Telecom ▲ 2019 Head of AI Service Unit at SK Telecom

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