Park Jung-ho SK Square Vice Chairman "SK Shieldus Investment Due Diligence Underway"

Discussion on Investment Attraction with EQT Partners, a Subsidiary of the Wallenberg Group
Regarding 11st Listing, "Global Partners Interested in Alliances and Mergers"

Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho is answering reporters' questions at the 'SK Tech Summit' held on the 8th at Walkerhill Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] Park Jung-ho, Vice Chairman of SK Square, announced that he will show active progress around June next year, when SK Square, launched in November last year, completes its one-year financial statements. He expressed optimism about the investment discussions between SK Shielders and EQT Partners.

At the 'SK Tech Summit' held on the 8th at Walkerhill Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, Vice Chairman Park told reporters, "We need substantial actions to bring out and demonstrate the investment portfolio that was at SK Telecom. However, one year is far too short, and only after SK Square announces its completed one-year financial statements can it engage in various activities as a fully established company, such as repurchasing treasury shares," he said. He added, "It will be around June next year when the one-year financial statements come out. Once that happens, I believe there will be many things SK Square can do."

Vice Chairman Park also hinted that SK Square will soon reveal investments that demonstrate its capabilities. He emphasized, "Fundamentally, as an investment company, SK Square’s strength lies in sourcing investment targets, nurturing and growing investment assets, graduating them, and perfectly showcasing this cycle to the market. The first of such actions is underway now."

According to industry sources, SK Shielders is currently discussing investment attraction with EQT Partners, a private equity fund manager affiliated with the Wallenberg Group. Regarding this, Vice Chairman Park said, "In the case of SK Shielders, a very good partner is strongly interested in investing, and due diligence is underway, so an announcement will be made soon."

Regarding 11st, which is preparing for an IPO, he said, "There are various options. Many offline players are approaching 11st, and there are scenarios involving global players as well." He added, "I attended the Amazon CEO summit, and scenarios are progressing in this area." He further stated, "Even if various merger and alliance scenarios for 11st do not proceed well, we are looking for various tasks that 11st should pursue as a commerce app."

Concerns have recently arisen that the merger of CJ ENM’s online video service (OTT) TVING and KT’s Seezn threatens SK Square’s Wavve. In the past, Vice Chairman Park said he would resolve conflicts with Netflix well, but the dispute over network usage fees between Netflix and SK Broadband is prolonging.

Regarding media strategy, Vice Chairman Park explained, "We said Netflix occupied the OTT market too early and excessively, disrupting the content ecosystem, and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings agreed. However, Hastings also faced significant limitations. With Apple TV and Amazon Prime entering with greater financial power, competition in technological creativity and original content creativity has become difficult."

He continued, "In Korea, including the three terrestrial broadcasters, there are many options in the content market. On the other hand, the OTT market is tough. When the market is difficult, I believe a breakthrough will be sought," adding, "Domestic OTTs are seeking breakthroughs."

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