SK 'Tech Summit' Opens... Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho: "Nvidia and Apple Must Also Be Born in Korea"

SK Group's 17 Companies Showcase 127 Technologies
"Unprecedented Rapid Change... Creativity Must Be Shared"
SKT's Growth Engine 'AI'... Corporate Value to Reach 40 Trillion Won by 2026

"We will open opportunities to web developers, students, professors, and venture companies, and create chances to converge with SK Group. We hope more companies like Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft will emerge in Korea as well."

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] On the 8th, Park Jung-ho, Vice Chairman of SK Telecom, stated this at the 'SK Tech Summit' held at Walkerhill Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. The 'SK Tech Summit' is a technology conference that consolidates SK Group's information and communication technology (ICT) capabilities to foster an ecosystem. Participants can engage in discussions on core technologies leading SK's present and future and experience exhibitions. This year's event theme is "A Better Future Created by SK's Technology."

Held offline for the first time in three years, the event featured presentations and exhibitions on 127 technologies across 10 fields including artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, automated machine learning (Auto ML), and metaverse, prepared by 17 SK Group affiliates. Global tech companies such as Amazon Web Services Korea, Microsoft, and GitHub also participated in presentations and exhibitions.

Park Jung-ho, Vice Chairman of SK Telecom and Chairman of the SK Group ICT Committee, delivering a welcome speech at the 'SK Tech Summit 2022' venue. Photo by SKT

In his opening remarks, Vice Chairman Park said, "There is no place untouched by ICT. All industries are embracing it, and if we provide opportunities to experience ambitious SK Group projects like battery and bio businesses, I ask attendees to open up broader horizons."

He also said, "I emphasized the importance of mobile, and seeing the smartphones released over the past two years, I wondered if innovation had stopped. However, mobile is the robot of the 21st century, and A. is a much more intelligent version of this robot," adding, "The robot that works for me rather than the one I operate is the direction we must advance, and SK Group is unique in this regard."

Yoo Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom, said, "Although we have not yet overcome the pandemic, we have experienced numerous changes, and technology is also rapidly evolving. Among them, the most notable are next-generation internet, semiconductor, and infrastructure technologies," adding, "I believe this event will be a place to discuss and exchange ideas on these technologies." In the keynote speeches, Lee Jong-min, head of SK Telecom Future R&D, and Cha Ji-won, head of SK C&C AI/Data Platform Group, presented on the themes "A Healthy and Safe Future Created by AI Technology" and "A Future Where Anyone Can Create AI Models."

External speakers such as Kim Ki-wan, Head of Solutions Architecture at Amazon Web Services Korea, and Esti Cheng, Head of Sustainability at Google, also raised topics on future technologies. As the event was held mainly offline for the first time in three years, networking activities such as developer gatherings, on-site mentoring for university students, and recruitment booths were actively conducted. At the exhibition booths on site, visitors could experience urban air mobility (UAM) virtual reality (VR) and the metaverse. Online live streaming and metaverse exhibition booth tours were also conducted simultaneously.

Yoo Young-sang, CEO of SKT, delivering a welcome speech at the 'SK Tech Summit 2022' venue. Photo by SKT

"Achieving a Corporate Value of 40 Trillion Won by 2026 through AI"

SK Telecom has set AI technology as its future growth engine. CEO Yoo revealed the vision at a town hall meeting held the previous day, aiming to grow SKT's corporate value to over 40 trillion won by 2026 and establish itself as Korea's representative AI company. To achieve this goal, CEO Yoo announced three major strategies for the five business groups: ▲ Redefining core business with AI ▲ Innovating customer relationships through AI services ▲ Innovating with AIX.

Last year, SKT reorganized its entire business into five divisions: wired and wireless communications, media, enterprise, AIVERSE, and connected intelligence. The plan is to transform existing core businesses such as wired and wireless communications, media, and enterprise into AI-driven sectors to secure new growth engines.

SKT aims to improve processes so customers can use wired and wireless communication services online without interruption, aspiring to become an "AI Mobile Network Operator (MNO)." In the media sector, it focuses on integrating media assets and enhancing content capabilities by launching an "AI Media Player" that provides personalized content using AI technology. In the enterprise sector, it redefines the business as "AI Enterprise," supporting customers' AI transformation.

To innovate customer relationships through AI services, SKT applies new technologies and content to AI-based services such as A., Ifland, and T Universe, fostering closer connections with customers. AIX refers to finding companies that require AI or digital transformation (DT) for investment or acquisition and spreading SKT's AI and DT capabilities.

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