The End of 'Digico'... What Lies Ahead for KT?

CEO Candidate Koo Hyun-mo Withdraws
Distancing from Former CEO... Preparing New Growth Strategy

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] As KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo decided to withdraw from the next CEO candidacy on the 23rd, significant changes are expected in KT's future. The 'Digico (Digital Platform Company)' vision championed by CEO Koo will come to an end, and a new growth strategy must be devised.

CEO Koo, who took office as KT's Chief Executive Officer in 2020, promoted the 'Digico' strategy during his three-year term, pushing for a transformation from a telecommunications company (telco) to a platform company. He focused intensively on nurturing non-telecom new businesses known as 'ABC'?Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, and Cloud?beyond traditional telecommunications. The runaway hit drama "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" was also a product of the Digico strategy. Thanks to this, KT's corporate value increased by about 45% over three years as of the end of last year.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

With CEO Koo's withdrawal from the leadership race making a leadership change certain, the 'Digico' strategy, which has been KT's growth engine for the past three years, has come to a halt. Since CEO Koo, who was expected to be reappointed, stepped down, the new CEO will need to differentiate rather than continue Koo's strategy. It is expected that the new CEO will erase the previous CEO's Digico achievements and present a new vision different from it. In fact, KT has presented new growth strategies every time the CEO changed.

Currently, the pool of internal and external candidates for KT CEO has decreased to 33 following CEO Koo's withdrawal. After the first and second rounds of screening, a shortlist narrowing the candidates to single digits will be announced on the 28th. Interviews will be conducted on the 7th of next month, and the final CEO candidate will be announced.

The new KT CEO, confirmed on March 7, is expected to quickly prepare a future growth strategy to replace Digico upon taking office. As CEO Koo's reappointment became uncertain, KT has been indefinitely postponing executive appointments and organizational restructuring since the end of last year. Competitors SK Telecom and LG Uplus have already conducted executive appointments and organizational restructuring and are driving management forward. Meanwhile, KT is reportedly renewing contracts for executives whose terms have expired on a monthly basis. KT must present a new vision with speed, as it is 3 to 4 months behind its competitors.

Meanwhile, the telecommunications industry is also closely watching KT's next CEO. Since the industry shares overall direction, there are concerns that if the new CEO focuses excessively on erasing the previous CEO's achievements and pushes an unreasonable strategy, it could negatively affect the growth of the entire industry.

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