'Communication and Collaboration' LG Uplus Rides the Metaverse and NFT Wave

U+ Virtual Office, Kids Zoo, and Muneo NFT Service Launch
Targeted Customer-Specific Services
Focus on Activities Like Experiences
Entry into NFT Community Market
Targeting 2030 Generation with 'Muneo'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] LG Uplus has defined the metaverse (extended virtual world) as an "expansion of living spaces that embody future customer experiences" and launched services tailored to target customers. It is also entering the non-fungible token (NFT) community market for the first time among telecommunications companies.

Metaverse + NFT in Daily Life

On the 17th, LG Uplus held a briefing and unveiled three services: Uplus (U+) Virtual Office, U+ Kids Zoo, and Muneo NFT. The strategy aims to innovate customer experiences by targeting clear customer segments such as office workers who have adapted to remote work due to COVID-19 and children who want to learn through playful experiences.

The U+ Metaverse focuses on activities such as communication, collaboration, and experiences among the metaverse components (avatar, space, activity). U+ Virtual Office is a service specialized for work environments where remote work has become routine after COVID-19. The "Artificial Intelligence (AI) Meeting Minutes" automatically generates minutes by recognizing each participant's voice and who said what during meetings. "Avatar Chatting" adds fun to communication with colleagues through avatars' facial expressions and gestures, and includes a lip-sync feature that moves the avatar's mouth according to speech, enhancing vividness. LG Uplus plans to provide the service first to employees and some client companies to improve service completeness, with an official launch scheduled for next year.

Transitioning the Metaverse to the Real World

The AI-based "U+ Kids Zoo," targeting the Alpha Generation (born 2010?2020s), aims for "experience" and "learning." It offers virtual zoo experiences with friends and animal learning with AI characters. Yuppi and friends from "U+ Kids Land" appear as AI characters, allowing free conversations. During the experience, if users ask about animals or dinosaurs by voice, the AI responds.

Lee Sang-yeop, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of LG Uplus, said, "Customer experiences that happened in reality will transition to the metaverse, and it is important for customers to feel real value and expanded experiences within virtual spaces. We will adopt a selection and concentration strategy to proactively respond to the rapidly changing market and create an environment that can lead customer lifestyles, continuously innovating customer experiences."

Entering the NFT Market

LG Uplus will issue NFTs using its own characters and enter the NFT community market. NFTs are a technology that grants rarity and ownership to digital content such as music, videos, and images, and purchases are mainly made by people in their 20s and 30s. This month, LG Uplus will issue NFTs using its representative character "Muneo." Muneo is a concept character representing young adults who speak their minds without hesitation and have many things they want to do. Various events will be prepared exclusively for Muneo NFT customers, and priority purchase rights will be given for the second issuance. For example, if a customer owns five or more Muneo NFTs, they will receive two Legoland tickets and one Muneo NFT from the second issuance for free.

LG Uplus will also open exclusive community channels for Muneo NFT holders through social networking services (SNS) such as Discord and Twitter, as well as the official Muneo community. The NFT community is an online community where holders can freely express the worldview of their NFTs, which is a crucial factor determining the success of NFTs.

LG Uplus will issue 200 Muneo NFTs through the dedicated Muneo NFT website on the 25th. The website will open on the 23rd. In a pre-reservation held earlier in the Muneo community, 50 Muneo NFTs were sold out in 9 minutes. All proceeds from NFT sales will be donated to charities. A second NFT issuance is planned for the second half of this year.