SKT Also Undergoes 'Deep Change'... Final Decision on Telecom and Investment Company Split Next Week

Temporary General Meeting Held on the 12th
SK Square CEO Park Jung-ho
Leading Semiconductor and ICT Investments

SK Telecom SKT Tower Exterior View

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] SK Telecom, a ‘37-year telecommunications company,’ will hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders next week to vote on matters related to the corporate split for business transformation. This move aligns with SK Chairman Chey Tae-won’s call for a ‘deep change’ aimed at fundamental transformation.

According to industry sources on the 8th, SK Telecom plans to hold the extraordinary general meeting at 10 a.m. on the 12th at the SKT Tower in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul. The agenda includes ▲stock split and partial amendment of the articles of incorporation ▲approval of the division plan ▲appointment of Choi Kyu-nam as an outside director, among others. The division plan contains details of the business structure reorganization. SK Telecom will be split into the business company SK Telecom, based on its existing wired and wireless business, and the newly established investment company SK Square. Each will have an independent management system with expertise in management and investment, respectively, to enhance management efficiency and secure new growth engines.

Park Jung-ho, CEO who has led SK Telecom, will serve as the CEO of SK Square, which will officially launch on the 1st of next month. He will lead ICT investments overseeing the semiconductor and mobility sectors. The surviving company, SK Telecom, will be responsible for digital infrastructure-based businesses such as telecommunications-based artificial intelligence (AI), metaverse, subscription marketing, and data centers.

SK Telecom’s transformation is part of the deep change strategy emphasized by Chairman Chey Tae-won. After returning as a registered director in March 2016, Chairman Chey stressed at the SK Group’s expanded management meeting held in June of the same year that “deep change” is necessary for a company to grow sustainably without sudden death. SK Innovation has also announced a physical division into SK Battery (tentative name), which handles electric vehicle batteries, and SK E&P.

In the global semiconductor supply shortage situation, the importance of semiconductor investment has increased. SK Group is backing the newly established SK Square. The blueprint to grow SK Square’s net asset value to around 75 trillion won by 2025 was also revealed early on. Attention is focused on whether Park Jung-ho, who concurrently serves as vice chairman of SK Hynix, can demonstrate his capabilities as a ‘merger and acquisition (M&A) strategist.’

The listing of new ICT subsidiaries under the newly established SK Square is also expected to gain momentum. The first initial public offering (IPO) candidate is One Store, an application (app) market operator. Subsequently, Wave, 11st, ADT Caps, and T Map Mobility plan to go public sequentially. CEO Park said, “The split into SK Telecom and the newly established SKT investment company marks the beginning of the ‘SKT 2.0 era’ that opens a greater future,” adding, “Through the company’s future growth, we will contribute to the development of the ICT ecosystem in the Republic of Korea.”

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