SK Telecom Defends Profitability Despite Hacking Incident... LG Uplus Smiles on Secondary Gains (Comprehensive)

SK Telecom Recovers Quarterly Operating Profit in the 500 Billion Won Range
KT Expected to Post Weak Results Due to Penalty-Free Cancellations
LG Uplus Sees 6.6% Increase in Q1 Operating Profit

SK Telecom SKT Tower exterior view.

After a difficult period caused by last year's hacking incident, SK Telecom has shown signs of profitability improvement, rebounding to an operating profit in the 500 billion won range in the first quarter of this year. LG Uplus, meanwhile, saw its first-quarter operating profit rise by 6.6%, benefiting from secondary effects of hacking incidents that occurred at SK Telecom and KT. KT, which is scheduled to announce its earnings on the 12th, is unlikely to escape the aftermath of the hacking crisis.

SK Telecom Rebounds from Hacking Crisis

On May 7, SK Telecom announced that, on a consolidated basis, its preliminary results for the first quarter of this year included revenue of 4.3923 trillion won and operating profit of 537.6 billion won, down 1.4% and 5.3%, respectively, from the same period last year. Net profit for the period was 316.4 billion won, a decrease of 12.5%.

Although the company continues to suffer fallout from last year's decline in wireless subscribers due to the hacking incident, SK Telecom's previously stalled earnings have begun to show signs of gradual recovery in the first quarter of 2026. The company stated, "Following the company-wide productivity improvement efforts after last year's hacking incident, we have recovered quarterly operating profit in the 500 billion won range for the first time," adding, "Profitability in our AI business is also improving."

In the first quarter of this year, SK Telecom achieved a net increase of approximately 210,000 mobile subscribers. Mobile service revenue rose by 1.7% compared to the previous quarter. To prevent customer churn, the company recently revamped its membership system to increase benefits and enhance convenience. It is also working on revamping its rate plans to expand customer choice.

SK Telecom's AI business is improving profitability through a strategy of "selection and concentration." For the AI data center (DC) business, first-quarter revenue reached 131.4 billion won, a dramatic 89.3% increase year-on-year. This was driven by higher utilization rates at AI data centers such as those in Gasan, as well as increased GPUaaS (GPU-as-a-Service) revenue.

SK Telecom is resuming quarterly dividends as part of its shareholder return policy. The first-quarter dividend stands at 830 won per share.

Its subsidiary in the fixed-line business, SK Broadband, saw revenue of 1.1498 trillion won and operating profit of 116.6 billion won, up 3.2% and 21.4% year-on-year, respectively, driven by growth in its high-speed internet services.

Jongseok Park, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of SK Telecom, said, "The first quarter was a meaningful period in which we strengthened our fundamental competitiveness centered on customer value and achieved tangible results in line with our goal to recover profitability through the AI business this year. We will focus on continued performance improvement to drive earnings recovery."

LG Uplus Benefits in Q1... Operating Profit Up 6.6%

Hong Beomsik, CEO of LG Uplus, is presenting on the 'AI Business Strategy' at a press conference held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Barcelona, Spain. 2026.3.4 Photo by Jinhyung Kang

LG Uplus recorded an operating profit of 272.3 billion won in the first quarter, up 6.6% from the same period last year. Revenue and net profit also increased by 1.5% and 8.4% year-on-year to 3.8037 trillion won and 176 billion won, respectively.

The increase in subscribers appears to have had a positive effect on LG Uplus's performance. The company benefited from the secondary effects of the hacking incidents at SK Telecom and KT. During KT's penalty-free contract cancellation period earlier this year, LG Uplus gained around 40,000 new subscribers. The B2B business is also gaining momentum, with higher utilization rates at data centers in locations such as Pyeongchon 2, Gasan, Busan, and Jangnim.

Although there were recent security concerns regarding the partial reflection of actual phone numbers in International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) information, the impact has been limited. Since April 13, LG Uplus has been offering free USIM (Universal Subscriber Identity Module) replacements and updates for subscribers. As of 10 p.m. the previous day, cumulative USIM replacements stood at 1,021,701 and updates at 631,138.

KT, which is set to announce its earnings on the 12th, is expected to post weak results due to the large outflow of subscribers resulting from the penalty-free cancellation period. According to financial information provider FnGuide, KT's first-quarter operating profit is projected to decrease by about 26% to 505.3 billion won. The company is expected to have suffered a decline in profitability due to subscriber losses resulting from the hacking crisis, as well as increased costs from customer compensation programs.

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