"Evolution to IPTV and OTT TV"… Hwang Hyun-sik: "Opening the 'U+ 3.0 Era' with Four Major Platforms"

Growth Drive through Lifestyle, Play, Growth Care, and Web 3.0
Non-telecom Sales Target 40% and Corporate Value 12 Trillion by 2027

Hwang Hyun-sik, President of LG Uplus

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] "We will open the Uplus 3.0 era and achieve a corporate value of 12 trillion won within five years. By shifting the core of our business from telecommunications and services to four major platforms, we aim to secure 7 million subscribers in the lifestyle sector, including subscriptions, by 2027, and upgrade Internet TV (IPTV) to online video services (OTT) by transforming Idulnara into a 'Kids OTT,' accelerating the achievement of our goals."

Moving Beyond Wired/Wireless Communication (1.0) and 5G (2.0) to the 3.0 Era

Hwang Hyun-sik, CEO of LG Uplus, held a press conference on the 15th at the Ambassador Seoul Pullman Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, to unveil this mid- to long-term growth strategy. CEO Hwang announced that the company will form four major platforms, including future technologies represented by Web 3.0, across three new business areas: lifestyle, play, and growth care, to lead customer experience innovation.

CEO Hwang said, "The period when Telecom, Dacom, and Powercom each operated wired and wireless businesses can be seen as '1.0,' and the period after the merger of the three companies, establishing a leading image in telecommunications based on LTE and 5G and making a leap forward, can be regarded as '2.0.' Now, we want to open the 'U+3.0' era, which goes beyond traditional telecommunications business areas to create customer-centric platforms and services based on data and technology, discovering future growth engines."

At last year's press conference, CEO Hwang announced plans to expand the non-telecommunications business revenue share to 30% by 2025. This year, he set a goal to increase the non-telecommunications business revenue share to 40% by 2027, five years later, and to grow the corporate value to 12 trillion won. Last year, the non-telecommunications business accounted for about 20% of LG Uplus's revenue. The plan is to double it in six years.

Goal of 7 Million Subscribers for Subscription Platform, IPTV Evolves into OTT

The lifestyle platform will expand digital touchpoints through DIY plans and eSIMs, closely analyze customer data, and link with subscription and routine services frequently used in daily life. CEO Hwang said, "The representative keywords that the MZ generation focuses on are 'subscription' and 'routine.' Accordingly, we launched the subscription platform 'Yudok' last July and will further expand the lifestyle platform area."

The company plans to link the data accumulated through platform business with healthcare, pets, travel, and more. To this end, LG Uplus plans to build a lifestyle platform with 7 million users in five years.

The play platform plans to expand the content and OTT lineup provided by LG Uplus to create services that allow leisure time in various formats such as TV and idols. CEO Hwang said, "To respond to the changing market with intensified OTT competition, we will evolve IPTV into 'OTT TV,' where various OTTs can be viewed," adding, "We will also develop fandom-based sports and idol services into platforms that provide self-produced content."

The recently revamped 'Idol Plus' will expand metaverse content such as live, multi-view, extended reality (XR) technologies that aid viewing, 3D exhibition halls, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 'Idulnara' will be upgraded into a mobile-centered 'Kids OTT.' The service will be expanded to increase not only children's but also parents' engagement, and a commerce platform will be built to offer customized teachers and educational materials necessary for childcare and education, providing all information needed for child growth. Additionally, the company plans to target the B2B education solution market such as kindergartens and accumulate references to export 'K-education' to the global market.

CEO Hwang said, "Until now, Idulnara has been centered on IPTV services, which limited understanding of customer usage patterns," and added, "We will prepare a subscription platform that will establish itself as the 'Kids Netflix' to create service touchpoints that communicate with parent-child customers."

Aiming for the Web 3.0 Era, Securing Future Technologies

Earlier this year, LG Uplus strengthened its new business competitiveness by recruiting experts such as Lee Deok-jae, Chief Content Officer (CCO), a content expert, and Hwang Gyu-byeol, Chief Data Officer (CDO), a data expert.

Based on platform competitiveness, LG Uplus plans to discover business models that provide real value to customers according to Web 3.0. To increase customer participation in the platform, it will establish a Web 3.0-style reward system involving idols, content, NFTs, and expand research and development (R&D) and startup investments in technology areas such as the metaverse to secure future technologies. After prioritizing the platformization of new businesses, it will accelerate platform transformation in other business areas such as advertising, commerce, and B2B.

CEO Hwang emphasized, "For a different level of customer experience innovation, customers need to spend more time using Uplus services," and added, "We will fiercely prepare the four major platform businesses so that all of the customer's time is consumed on Uplus's platform."

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