[Comprehensive] Free Shipping on Amazon and Movies Too... SKT's '9,900 KRW/Month' Subscription Universe

"A subscription universe like never seen before." These are the words of Park Jung-ho, CEO of SK Telecom.

SK Telecom has officially announced its entry into the domestic subscription economy market, which is expected to grow to 100 trillion KRW by 2025. On the 31st, it will launch subscription packages tailored to customers' lifestyles, including Amazon free shipping, Google Cloud, Wave, E-Mart, Starbucks, and more. With the mobile telecommunications market, its core business, reaching saturation, SK Telecom has chosen the 'subscription platform' as a new growth model. It also revealed goals to achieve 36 million subscribers and 8 trillion KRW in transaction volume by 2025, competing against established subscription commerce leaders like Naver, Kakao, and Coupang.

◇ Subscription Brand T-Uju... Introducing ‘Uju Pass’ with Exceptional Benefits

On the morning of the 25th, SK Telecom held an online press conference to announce the new subscription brand ‘T-Uju’ targeting all 50 million Koreans and its subscription business plans. Yoo Sang-young, Head of SK Telecom’s MNO Business, stated, "T-Uju aims to be a subscription universe where various brands and customers coexist harmoniously and grow together," adding, "The ‘T’ in T-Uju goes beyond the traditional meaning of telecommunications to also represent Technology, Tomorrow, and Together."

The subscription package product ‘Uju Pass,’ launching on the 31st, comes in two types: All and Mini. The Uju Pass All, priced at 9,900 KRW per month, includes Amazon free shipping and a 10,000 KRW discount coupon, 3,000 points for 11th Street, and Google One membership with 100GB as basic benefits. Additionally, customers can choose one individual subscription product worth 8,000 to 10,000 KRW monthly. The Uju Pass Mini, priced at 4,900 KRW per month, provides Amazon and 11th Street benefits as basic, with an option to select either the popular cloud service (Google One) or OTT service (Wave).

Individual products include Baedal Minjok discount coupons, up to 30% off at Paris Baguette, four 3,000 KRW coupons for E-Mart, and Starbucks Americano 4+1 coupons (twice a month), allowing customers to choose according to their preferences. Yoon Jae-woong, SK Telecom’s Subscription Marketing Manager, explained, "Customers can change their selections every month as they wish," and added, "We are currently negotiating additional partnerships with over 100 businesses."

Soon, Baskin Robbins (7,000 KRW voucher), Yanolja (7,500 KRW discount coupon), Cleaning Lab (8,000 KRW voucher), Bottleworks (10,000 KRW tea voucher), and Ring Tea (60% discount) will also join. Han Myung-jin, SK Telecom’s Subscription Product CO, confidently stated, "We have composed a package with more benefits and usefulness than any product previously on the market." For example, Amazon overseas direct purchase, which usually costs about 20,000 KRW per delivery, becomes more advantageous the more subscribers use it.

◇ Launching Amazon Overseas Direct Purchase... SKT Aiming to Dominate the Platform with "36 Million Subscribers by 2025"

SK Telecom has positioned Amazon, a close cooperative partner, ahead of competitors like Naver, Kakao, and Coupang, who unveiled their subscription platforms earlier. The core service of Uju Pass, Amazon free shipping, will be available through the ‘Amazon Global Store’ opening on 11th Street on the 31st.

This is an overseas direct purchase service that allows customers to shop for products sold on Amazon.com within the 11th Street shopping environment. Domestic consumers can order from tens of millions of Amazon US products directly on 11th Street and receive them faster. By utilizing a separate logistics center, the delivery period for major products, which usually took 6 to 10 days, will be shortened to 4 to 6 days. Lee Sang-ho, CEO of 11th Street, emphasized, "This is the first time Amazon is providing services through partnerships with local operators."

Unlike competitors focused mainly online, T-Uju’s strength lies in experiential marketing available at 3,300 offline stores nationwide. SK Telecom plans to expand offline ‘subscription specialty stores’ to 1,000 locations and train over 1,000 professional consultants. They also plan to link these with mobile plans and T Membership in the future. Yoon emphasized, "This is a cost-effective subscription product package with up to eight times the value." SK Telecom will also run a first-month promotional offer charging 100 KRW for Uju Pass Mini and 1,000 KRW for Uju Pass All for all citizens.

Yu Young-sang, Head of SK Telecom MNO Business, is explaining the business plan at the subscription brand 'T Woosoo' launch briefing held online on the morning of the 25th.

The essence of the subscription service SK Telecom pursues is not merely to aggregate subscription products. Based on decades of accumulated telecommunications data, it aims to build an optimal subscription commerce platform by understanding customers’ preferred content, interests, frequently visited places, and living environments.

They view subscription services not as an add-on to retain existing telecom subscribers but as a future growth engine. The rapidly growing subscription economy is becoming a new consumption method for the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), who will be the main drivers of future economic activity, making this a market that cannot be overlooked. Synergies are also expected with subsidiaries such as 11th Street, Wave, Flo, T Map, as well as group affiliates like SK Magic and SK Rent-a-Car.

Yoo Sang-young, Head of SK Telecom’s MNO Business, emphasized, "We aim to be an AI and data-driven online and offline subscription commerce platform," adding, "We will achieve 36 million subscribers and 8 trillion KRW in transaction volume by 2025."