SKT Begins Restoring Customer Trust... "Significantly Expanding On-Site Communication"

Establishment of Customer Experience Team

AI Data Curation System to Be Introduced

After last year’s hacking incident, SK Telecom is aiming to restore trust this year by expanding customer touchpoints.

Lee Hyeyeon, Head of Customer Value Innovation at SK Telecom, is giving a presentation at the 'Customer Value Innovation Activity Plan Briefing' held on the 18th at Ferrum Tower, Jung-gu, Seoul. Provided by SK Telecom

Hye-Yeon Lee, Head of Customer Value Innovation at SK Telecom, stated at the “Customer Value Innovation Activity Plan Briefing” held on March 18 at Ferrum Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul: “This year, we will significantly expand direct on-site communication with customers. We intend to truly understand our customers and reflect their input in all contact channels, products, and services.”

SK Telecom explained that it will expand communication in order to regain the trust lost due to last year’s hacking incident. Lee said, “Last year’s hacking was an event that caused SK Telecom a lot of concern. The level of customer expectations regarding security and service has increased significantly. Today’s customers are smart and, in many cases, know more about our services than we do.”

To drive customer-centric change, SK Telecom established a CX (Customer Experience) organization under the Customer Value Innovation Office at the end of last year. The CX team directly engages with customers across various channels, collects and analyzes their needs, suggests improvements to services, and develops mid- to long-term strategies to enhance customer value. Lee said, “Through an open recruitment process, the CX team has brought together diverse experience and capabilities. Members generate ideas themselves and are involved in execution and feedback, making the organization proactive and committed.”

This year, SK Telecom CEO Jeong Jaeheon and employees plan to increase activities where they meet customers directly. To address the inconvenience and concerns of customers with low online and offline accessibility, the company will expand its “Visiting Service” initiative, which started last year. Since January, SK Telecom has visited six locations including Jinan County in North Jeolla Province. In the future, the company plans to visit regions where the elderly population exceeds 30 percent and provide security education, telecommunications and AI consultations, and after-sales service consultations for mobile phones. Lee said, “We plan to operate this as a store concept where our staff visit senior citizens directly. We will ensure that on-site support is available for mobile phone repairs and protective film replacements.”

The company is also promoting activities to strengthen customer trust. SK Telecom will meet with customers who have been with the company for over 40 years to hear their opinions, and has implemented measures such as shortening the customer service process and assigning dedicated representatives to make it easier for long-term customers to use its call center. The company is also preparing events to listen to university students’ opinions and connect these to the “Youth Work Experience Support Project.” In the second half of the year, SK Telecom plans to hold AI utilization and security workshops for elementary and middle school students. Lee said, “The 20s to 40s demographic will be our core customers going forward. We will discuss with them the direction SK Telecom should take to regain customer trust.”

SK Telecom also plans to implement an “AI Data Curation” system that collects, refines, classifies, and processes customer demand data using AI to deliver tailored services. Through this system, the company expects to safely protect customer personal information and identify directions for improving products and services. Lee said, “If data is simply processed, there is a risk of hallucination, so human intervention is necessary. At SK Telecom, employees with real expertise will handle and process the required data.”

Lee concluded, “SK Telecom’s goal this year is to create a sustainable structure by going directly to the field to listen to customer voices and translating those insights into organizational change. We will focus all our capabilities so that customers can truly feel the impact of our efforts.”

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