[Exclusive] SKT Park Jung-ho Officially Confirms “Participation in eBay Korea Acquisition Bid is Natural”

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] Park Jung-ho, CEO of SK Telecom, who achieved a super-collaboration with Amazon, officially announced his participation in the eBay Korea acquisition battle on the 16th. This decision is based on the judgment that through a large-scale merger and acquisition (M&A) that will shake up the domestic e-commerce landscape, the commerce subsidiary 11st, which has been considered a sore spot, can be elevated to the Big 3 alongside Naver and Coupang. This aligns with SK Telecom’s ‘beyond-telecom’ strategy, which seeks new growth engines in e-commerce.

CEO Park told this publication on the day, "We will participate in the preliminary bidding for the acquisition of eBay Korea." The preliminary bidding for eBay Korea’s acquisition closes this afternoon. He added, "It is still a preliminary bid, not the final one, but of course, we should participate." This strongly expressed his intention to acquire eBay Korea.

If SK Telecom acquires eBay Korea, 11st will instantly join the e-commerce Big 3 alongside Naver and Coupang. Last year, 11st, an open market service like eBay Korea, had an estimated transaction volume of about 10 trillion won, accounting for 6% of the e-commerce market. Besides SK Telecom, Shinsegae, Lotte, and Kakao are also expected to enter this M&A, which is estimated to be worth 4 to 5 trillion won.

SK Telecom’s decision is interpreted as an effort to strengthen 11st’s competitiveness while accelerating its beyond-telecom growth strategy. It signals a leap toward becoming the so-called ‘Korean version of Amazon.’ Particularly meaningful is that CEO Park, who has demonstrated a gambler’s spirit in major SK Group M&As such as the acquisition of Hynix, has made another bold move less than six months after successfully closing the global super-collaboration big deal with Amazon.

This also strongly reflects the will to seize the winning momentum in the fierce e-commerce market and simultaneously increase the corporate value of both 11st and SK Telecom. The recent rise of new platform powerhouses in the e-commerce field, such as Coupang, which has been recognized with a corporate value of 100 trillion won on the New York Stock Exchange, and Naver, which is strengthening its commerce competitiveness based on ICT capabilities, has also influenced this decision. 11st is expected to go public (IPO) soon.