Park Jung-ho SKT CEO "Working as One Team in Seoul, Busan, and Overseas"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] Park Jung-ho, CEO of SK Telecom, announced, “We are promoting ‘Work Anywhere,’ a system that allows all employees to work freely regardless of their location, whether at home, the office, or a hub office.”

On the afternoon of the 17th, SK Telecom held a one-hour online and offline town hall meeting at the Suprex Hall in its Euljiro headquarters under the theme ‘Work Anywhere - Innovation in Work Styles.’

At the event, CEO Park emphasized, “We cannot return 100% to the pre-COVID-19 era, so we need to study how to develop our work and communication methods. Based on the data and non-face-to-face technologies we have accumulated, we will attempt ways to work freely anytime and anywhere.”

He continued, “As one of the attempts to break free from spatial constraints, we will actively expand hub offices,” adding, “Through this, we will cultivate a new organizational culture and new capabilities in space utilization.”

This year, SK Telecom established ‘hub offices’ within 10 to 20 minutes of commuting time in five areas: Euljiro, Jongno, Seodaemun, Bundang, and Pangyo. Hub offices address the drawbacks of working from home and reduce commuting time, making them popular among employees. Between 100 and 200 people use them daily. SK Telecom plans to gradually expand hub offices by analyzing employees’ residential locations.

CEO Park explained, “With Work Anywhere, employees based in Busan can belong to the Seoul headquarters team and work. Employees who need to stay with family overseas or talents recruited abroad will be able to work together without necessarily coming to Korea.”

He also explained the background behind the hub office idea. Park said, “Initially, we considered efficient commuting via shuttle buses, but the idea expanded to reducing inefficiencies caused by commuting.”

He emphasized, “If Work Anywhere spreads throughout society, overall travel time will decrease, and it will contribute to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) by reducing carbon emissions from vehicles.”

On this day, CEO Park also introduced the champion (project leader) who will lead the hub office project. Born in 1988, Yoon Tae-ha, a third-year employee, was selected after a competitive internal application process in October where he presented future business plans to management. This appointment reflects management’s intention to entrust decision-making to younger employees and accelerate innovation.

Two weeks after the town hall on the ‘Mobility Business’ held on the 5th, CEO Park created another communication opportunity with employees. The purpose is to frequently share management information and key issues with employees in the post-COVID-19 era and to overcome spatial constraints through open idea discussions.

CEO Park said, “The hub office concept was concretized after discussions at the non-face-to-face town hall in June,” adding, “We will establish a culture where opinions can be exchanged directly via email or openly debated frequently through town halls.”

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