'Bold Innovation' at SK Telecom: "All New Services to Be Approved by Employees in Their 20s and 30s Before Launch"

[Asia Economy, reporter Jo Seulgina] "It's time to break all the old formulas in every area." SK Telecom is embarking on a bold innovation by requiring all new services to undergo decision-making by employees in their 20s and 30s-the digital generation-before launch. The company will also expand its "satellite offices," allowing employees to commute to offices located just 10 to 20 minutes from their homes, rather than to headquarters.

According to SK Telecom on June 7, CEO Park Jung-ho held a "post-corona" themed, four-hour-long "untact town hall" at the Euljiro headquarters on June 3, where he announced these strategies.

During the event, Park emphasized, "The global untact trend is both a crisis and an opportunity for ICT companies that provide hyper-connectivity," adding, "From mobile communications to new ICT businesses and corporate culture, we must accelerate innovation to adapt to the new era."

Previously, following the outbreak of COVID-19, SK Telecom was the first major conglomerate in Korea to implement company-wide remote work, online shareholders' meetings, and untact recruitment. The company has now declared a full-scale innovation drive. The town hall, joined by about 40,000 members of the SK ICT Family, also served as an attempt to directly test and commercialize various solutions by integrating multiple untact systems.

Park explained, "We must move away from evaluating our mobile communications competitiveness solely by ARPU (average revenue per user), subscriber numbers, or by viewing market share as a territorial conquest." He added, "We will create a new evaluation model tailored to each business's unique characteristics in the digital era." Regarding new businesses, he said, "Even if it results in short-term losses, we must attempt to transform all new businesses through AI and cloud adoption to create new opportunities," and urged, "In the digital age, we must open up new ICT products to more companies."

Additionally, he made a bold proposal to establish a "Junior Board" under the Service Committee, requiring all new services to be approved by young employees of the digital generation before launch.

Park also emphasized "self-strengthening" as the key to the era of hyper-collaboration. He explained that while collaboration with major domestic and international companies is important, there are limits without internal strength; but if the company possesses the power to lead the new era, it can unlock unlimited opportunities in the global market.

Employees shared a variety of opinions on work innovation through comments. SK Telecom's management agreed with suggestions to expand "satellite offices"-allowing employees to commute to offices 10 to 20 minutes from home instead of headquarters-and to strengthen "smart solutions" to enhance work efficiency through ICT, and decided to implement them immediately. Park also announced plans to pursue "Digital Work 2.0," which refines work methods based on remote work data, and "Agile Groups," which allow members to establish necessary organizations themselves.

During the town hall, management emphasized that although the business environment has worsened due to COVID-19, the company's accumulated digital capabilities and technologies are creating new growth breakthroughs. In March and April, VOD sales in the media business and e-commerce transaction volumes each increased by double digits. In the security sector, new revenue was generated due to increased demand for thermal imaging cameras. In the MNO sector, new business opportunities such as 5G cloud and smart factories are rapidly emerging.

To turn untact into an opportunity, SK Telecom's management announced plans to promote: an O2O marketing platform connecting the strengths of online and offline distribution networks; expansion of original content production; the launch of untact access control solutions; and differentiation in video commerce.

SK Telecom has regularly held town halls where employees gather in the main auditorium to share business direction and engage in discussions. These events, where the CEO and key executives present directly and employees provide feedback, have become a hallmark of SK Telecom's communication culture. In this untact town hall, employees actively participated through video conferencing solutions, PC and mobile devices, and online streaming comments.

Park concluded, "Even in the midst of crisis, I feel great pride in our excellent infrastructure and solid business portfolio. Although employees must maintain distance due to COVID-19, let's become even more closely connected through digital means and turn this crisis into an opportunity."