KT Koo Hyun-mo "Increase Digital Platform Business Share to 50% by 2025"

KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo
Q&A with Institutional Investors and Shareholders
at the 39th Annual General Meeting

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] "We will increase the proportion of digital platform business to 50% by 2025 to drive company growth."

On the morning of the 29th, KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo made this statement during a Q&A session with shareholders, including institutional investors, at the 39th regular general meeting of shareholders held at the KT Research and Development Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul. CEO Koo also served as the chairman of the meeting.

The reason institutional investors have been focusing on KT this year is due to CEO Koo Hyun-mo's determination to transform KT into a digital platform company (Digico). His vision is to find new growth engines not only in the core wireless communication sector but also in the content and media fields.

CEO Koo said, "The reason we talk about Digico is to overcome the stagnant traditional telecommunications market and to become a digital platform business based on telecommunications for future growth." He added, "Digital platforms generate revenue by connecting both demand and supply sides, with media business and IDC (Internet Data Center) and cloud services being representative examples." In fact, the IPTV platform is expected to generate about 2 trillion KRW in revenue this year.

He continued, "There is strong market demand for digital platform business sectors, and there are many digital transformation (DX) needs across industries such as finance and distribution." He emphasized, "We plan to increase the proportion of digital platform business to 50% by 2025 to lead company growth, and I am confident that we can also generate profits."

The core control tower leading the content subsidiaries is the recently established KT Studio Genie. Earlier, KT announced at a press briefing on the 23rd that it plans to build a content library with more than 1,000 original IPs and over 100 drama IPs by the end of 2023.

CEO Koo explained, "We started the IPTV business in 2011 when cable TV was dominant, but after 10 years, KT has become the number one operator in Korea." He added, "Currently, it is growing at an annual average rate of about 15%, with the group's total revenue reaching 3.2 trillion KRW and IPTV accounting for 1.7 trillion KRW."

He went on, "Recently, content has had an increasing impact on the media business, and owning original content has become a competitive advantage." He also noted, "The content business environment is changing, and the Korean Wave (Hallyu) is opening opportunities to enter the global market."

He further stated, "KT established Studio Genie with the judgment that it can generate profits from the content business better than any other domestic operator." He said, "We have competitive advantages based on the value chain including securing original intellectual property (IP), production, and distribution, as well as differentiated strengths such as big data, artificial intelligence (AI) technology, and a subscriber base. We hope you will watch us positively."

KT also plans to continue shareholder-friendly actions through an active dividend policy. On this day, KT confirmed a dividend of 1,350 KRW per share, an increase of 250 KRW (22.7%) compared to the previous year. Dividends will be paid starting from the 27th of next month.

CEO Koo said, "We will maintain a dividend payout ratio of 50% of net income on a separate basis until 2022." He added, "Dear shareholders, KT's growth story starts now. We ask for your active encouragement and support."

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