Major Domestic Companies Also Fully Participating in MWC (Comprehensive)

Choi Tae-won's AI Interest... "Busan Expo Needs Warm Technology"
No Tae-moon & Yoo Sang-jang, Samsung Electronics & SKT XR Collaboration
KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo Urges Support for 'Digico'

[Barcelona=Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The heads of major domestic information and communication technology (ICT) companies visited the MWC site. They presented future technology directions such as artificial intelligence (AI) and extended reality (XR) and hinted at possibilities for collaboration.

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, visited the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 site held in Barcelona, Spain, for the first time on the 27th (local time).

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group (left) and Yoo Young-sang, CEO of SKT, are touring the SKT booth at MWC2023 held in Barcelona, Spain, on the 27th (local time).
[Photo by Oh Su-yeon]

Visiting the SK Telecom booth, Chairman Choi showed interest in AI technologies such as the AI agent 'Aidot' demonstration, Data AI Litmus, and AI semiconductor Sapeon. Since February last year, Chairman Choi has been serving as an unpaid non-executive chairman at SKT, directly overseeing SKT's AI business. When told that the performance of the Sapeon chip is better than Nvidia's, Chairman Choi asked, "If I came from Nvidia, would I acknowledge that?" SKT CEO Yoo Young-sang replied, "Official institutions have certified the performance comparison," adding, "Since Nvidia is a general-purpose chip and Sapeon is a specialized chip, the specialized chip has an advantage."

After touring the booth, Chairman Choi said, "Seeing the SKT booth, it seems that the telecommunications company is transforming into an AI company," and added, "We have technologies we have nurtured so far, and we will strive to become an AI company that can contribute to society by further combining and integrating them."

Chairman Choi will visit Spain and three other European countries as a special presidential envoy to promote the bid for the '2030 Busan World Expo (Busan Expo).' The delegation, including Chairman Choi, is scheduled to meet with Pedro S?nchez, Prime Minister of Spain, on the 28th. He said, "It is important to exhibit technology well at the Busan Expo, but the key theme of the Busan Expo is how to solve the problems humanity faces with technology," adding, "It is not about boasting technology itself, but about showing how technology can solve the world's problems, how environmental technology or digital technology can contribute to humanity." He also added, "We need warmer technology."

President No Tae-moon of Samsung Electronics (right) and CEO Yoo Young-sang of SKT (left) are touring the Samsung Electronics exhibition hall together at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 held in Barcelona, Spain on the 27th (local time).
[Photo by Oh Su-yeon]

Samsung Electronics MX Division President (CEO) Roh Tae-moon and CEO Yoo toured the Samsung Electronics exhibition hall together on the same day. When asked about cooperation in metaverse and XR, President Roh said, "We are still in the early development stage of the (device), and we will announce it when the completeness improves," to which CEO Yoo replied, "I hope the next XR device comes out soon. I also hope SKT's metaverse does well." CEO Yoo also praised the Galaxy S23 series as "the most powerful smartphone currently available." Regarding the possibility of AI cooperation with Samsung Electronics participating in SKT's ‘K-AI Alliance,’ announced at a meeting the previous day, CEO Yoo said, "Of course, we can work together."

KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo is viewing the KT booth exhibition at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 held in Barcelona, Spain, on the 27th (local time).
[Photo by Oh Su-yeon]

KT CEO Koo Hyun-mo also attended MWC. After touring the KT booth, he asked reporters, "Please continue to support DigiCo KT." Since his appointment in 2020, CEO Koo declared a transition from a telco (telecommunications company) to a DigiCo (digital platform company) and raised corporate value. However, due to political external pressures and investigative scrutiny, he recently decided not to seek reappointment. When asked about his future plans and reflections on management performance over the past three years, he refrained from answering.