Telecom 3 Companies Meet with Minister of Science and ICT... LG Uplus Hwang Hyun-sik "Regrettable That Delays Keep Happening"

On the 17th, CEOs of the three telecom companies held a meeting with Minister Im Hye-sook of the Ministry of Science and ICT at Seoul Central Post Office
The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to proceed swiftly at the practical level

On the morning of the 17th, a meeting was held between Minister Lim Hye-sook of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the CEOs of the three major telecommunications companies at Seoul Central Post Office. From the left, KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo, Minister Lim Hye-sook, SK Telecom CEO Yoo Young-sang, and LG Uplus CEO Hwang Hyun-sik.

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] After a meeting with Minister Lim Hye-sook of the Ministry of Science and ICT, the CEOs of the three major telecommunications companies, who had shown differing opinions on the issue of additional allocation of 5G frequencies, displayed mixed expressions. LG Uplus, which had initially requested additional frequency allocation, expressed regret over the delayed decision, while SK Telecom and KT, who had actively opposed it, maintained composed expressions.

LG Uplus Hwang Hyun-sik: "No definite conclusion reached"

At the meeting held on the morning of the 17th at the Seoul Central Post Office between the CEOs of the three telecom companies and Minister Lim Hye-sook of the Ministry of Science and ICT, discussions were held on expanding 5G investment, expanding investment in the 28 GHz band, the additional 5G bandwidth requested by LG Uplus, and additional allocation requests from SK Telecom.

Hwang Hyun-sik, CEO of LG Uplus, told reporters after the meeting, "No definite conclusion was reached today," adding, "Decisions need to be made promptly from the perspective of public convenience and customers, but it is regrettable that it keeps being delayed due to other arguments."

He continued, "The additional 20 MHz bandwidth we requested was announced in 2018 and was available in 2019," emphasizing, "The other frequency band raised belatedly by SK Telecom was planned for discussion in 2023. It is not desirable to discuss the frequency that went through the research task force and public hearings first together with the one raised later."

He added, "The Ministry of Science and ICT said the minister would work practically to conclude this part as soon as possible," and "I have not heard the exact schedule, so we need to watch the ministry's work closely."

KT Koo Hyun-mo: "Additional allocation conditions necessary... There is precedent"

Koo Hyun-mo, CEO of KT, said, "The minister asked us to invest more than last year, and accordingly, the three telecom companies expressed their intention to execute more than last year," adding, "Although there are various difficulties in building the 28 GHz band in the subway, we agreed to faithfully implement it so that the public can use faster Wi-Fi in the subway through the 28 GHz band."

Koo said, "We fully sympathize with Uplus and also with SK Telecom's request," and "KT will carefully review the demand for the 3.7?4.0 GHz band requested by SK Telecom and provide opinions to the government. We hope the government will conduct a comprehensive review including this."

Regarding whether additional allocation conditions are necessary, he said, "There is already a precedent where the 1.8 GHz band frequency allocated in 2013 had conditions, and the timing of regional service provision differed," adding, "So we asked the government to consider such factors."

SKT Yoo Young-sang: "Going to MWC with 3 years of 5G results"

Yoo Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom, said, "We had an open and frank discussion," adding, "We will expand investment as much as possible with the stance of expanding investment and increase coverage quality as much as the public desires." The plan is to maintain at least the same level of 5G capital expenditure (CAPEX) as the previous year.

Yoo said, "We have done 5G for three years, and we should go global with the results from that," and he mentioned three topics he plans to discuss at the Mobile World Congress (MWC): metaverse, artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, and quantum cryptography business.

He added, "The metaverse 'Ifland' is not number one domestically or globally, but it is a representative case created as a use case by a telecom operator doing 5G," and "Many global telecom operators want to meet us at MWC." He continued, "The second is the AI semiconductor 'Sapeon' announced at the last CES," adding, "Sapeon, which has tremendous potential made by a Korean telecom company together with its semiconductor subsidiary, is going global in earnest. We will sell it to global telecom operators who will be customers."

He also expressed his intention to leap forward as a global quantum cryptography business operator. He said, "Lastly, with Swiss IDQ, which we acquired three years ago, we aim to target Korea and Europe and also enter the U.S. market," adding, "I emphasized the perspective that we must go global with the achievements of domestic 5G. We plan to focus on this part at this MWC."

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