SKT Park Jung-ho: "Digital Transformation Can Change the Rankings of Companies and Nations"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] "It is an era of digital transformation where existing values and priorities are changing. I believe that the rankings of companies and countries can also change depending on how they prepare."

Park Jung-ho, CEO of SK Telecom and Vice Chairman of SK Hynix, who serves as the Chairman of the Korea Information and Communication Promotion Association, stated in a video message released at the New Year's meeting of broadcasting and telecommunications professionals held on the 25th, "2021 will be the first year of the post-pandemic society."

Referring to the past year when daily life such as international travel and movement was halted due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), Park said, "I see that these everyday experiences have accelerated the evolution into the virtual world, that is, the Metaverse, by about 10 years." He added, "There is no need to say more about the necessity to prepare for technological advances," and noted, "Even looking at just the past year, the time the public spends consuming content created by broadcasting and telecommunications professionals has increased significantly, and the role of the entire IT data communication infrastructure has grown even more."

Park evaluated, "In this trend, semiconductors, which are the core of our economic growth, recorded exports of about 100 billion dollars, the second highest ever. 5G subscribers have surpassed 10 million, and the digital transformation accelerated by COVID-19 has established 5G as a core infrastructure." He also added, "Cooperation with major global companies is steadily progressing, so the global expansion of the 5G industry is being well explored."

In particular, Park named 2021 as the first year of the 'post-pandemic society' and anticipated that competition will become even more intense. He emphasized, "In the era of digital transformation, the rankings of companies and countries can change depending on how they prepare." Furthermore, he predicted, "The battle for artificial intelligence (AI) dominance among global big tech companies will intensify, and the alliances and rivalries between global platform operators and global OTTs will deepen."

He urged, "This year, I hope that broadcasting and telecommunications professionals will join forces not only to contribute to our economic growth but also to accelerate social innovation and solve social challenges such as new forms of education and healthcare services, opening a path for our people to be even happier."

The New Year's meeting was held non-face-to-face with the participation of a total of 17 broadcasting and telecommunications related associations and institutions, including the Korea Information and Communication Promotion Association and the Korea Broadcasting Association.