[Comprehensive] KT under Koo Hyun-mo, recruits 'Robot Scholar' Dennis Hong... 1980-born appointed as AI Research Director

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] "Becoming a top-tier Artificial Intelligence (AI) leader."

Under the leadership of KT's Koo Hyun-mo, who has announced a leap toward becoming a 'digital platform company,' the company has made a bold move in the AI and robotics fields by recruiting world-renowned scholars, including Professor Dennis Hong from UCLA in the United States. Through this, KT aims to establish unparalleled leadership in the so-called ‘ABC’ areas?AI, Big Data, and Cloud?which are the core engines of future growth.

◆Recruitment of World-Class Scholars and Key AI Talent

According to KT on the 25th, as its first step in the new year, the company appointed Professor Dennis Hong, a global authority in robotics, as an advisor. Additionally, Professor Han Bo-hyung from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Seoul National University was appointed as an advisor for ‘deep learning and AI image recognition’ technology. Dr. Bae Soon-min, who previously led robot and avatar AI research and development at Samsung Techwin and Naver, was appointed as the head of the newly established AI2XL (AI To Everything Lab) within the Convergence Technology Institute.

Professor Denis Hong

This influx of key talent strongly reflects CEO Koo’s determination to secure unrivaled leadership in the ABC areas. The plan is to strengthen AI technological capabilities through talent acquisition and lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution era. This aligns with KT’s growth direction of transforming from a leading domestic telecommunications company into a global digital platform company.

Professor Dennis Hong, who will serve as an advisor to KT, is a world-renowned scholar who has received awards such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) ‘Young Scientist Award,’ the ‘GM Young Investigator Award,’ and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Education Award. It is reported that he decided to join KT in agreement with CEO Koo’s vision to elevate KT’s robotics technology competitiveness to the global top level. Meanwhile, Professor Han, who has been conducting joint research with Google for three years, will serve as an advisor on the direction of technology development that can address social and ethical issues related to AI, machine learning, and deep learning R&D.

Bae Sun-min, Director of AI2XL Research Institute

Notably, KT attracted attention by appointing, for the first time ever, a research institute head born in 1980 during this talent recruitment process. Dr. Bae, who will lead the AI2XL research institute, is the person in question. As a vision AI expert who replicates human visual recognition capabilities, Dr. Bae will propose strategies for KT to achieve top-tier AI technology. Alongside this, KT also recruited Lee Sang-ho, who previously led the robotics business division at ABB Korea and served as general manager, as the head of the AI Robot Business Unit within the AI·DX Convergence Business Division.

◆Establishment of R&D Win-Win Triangular Belt

KT is also establishing an R&D win-win triangular belt connecting Yangjae, Pangyo, and Bundang. The plan is to make this a playground where AI talents can freely conduct research.

The new Pangyo headquarters, located in Sujeong-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, will become a collaborative space where KT develops and verifies future convergence technologies and cooperates with ventures and startups. To nurture ventures and startups with excellent technology, KT plans to lease up to 20% of the total office space free of charge for up to 10 years. In addition to providing global expansion opportunities for resident companies, KT will support the activation of networks among companies. The completion of the Pangyo headquarters is scheduled for the second half of 2022.

Furthermore, KT’s Umyeon Research Center will oversee the development of foundational technologies leading future growth industries and provide testbed programs such as the 5G Open Lab for ventures and startups that will move into the Pangyo headquarters. KT’s Bundang headquarters tower will support securing core AI technologies, including next-generation AI video and voice recognition and analysis technologies, and data intelligence that predicts optimal decisions based on big data.

CEO Koo emphasized, “KT will enhance innovation in advanced technologies together with world-class AI scholars and increase understanding of new businesses to leap forward as the number one Digico (digital platform company). We will focus on technologies and businesses that make customers’ lives more valuable.”