KT, "Strengthening Transparent Transactions"... Restructuring Partners Every 3 to 5 Years

Establishing AICT-Oriented Purchasing Processes
Expanding Entry Opportunities for Outstanding Companies

KT announced that it will improve its purchasing and partner management processes, which have been centered on telecommunications (CT), to suit all areas of AICT such as AI and cloud, in order to realize fair and transparent purchasing and accelerate its transformation into an AICT company. Photo by KT

KT (CEO Kim Young-seop) announced on the 9th that it will improve its purchasing and partner management processes centered on telecommunications (CT) to accelerate its transformation into an AICT (Artificial Intelligence + Information and Communication Technology) company.

First, KT established principles for managing relationships with partners, focusing on quality and competition as core keywords. It will introduce a 'partner rotation system' that restructures partners by implementing a 'quality-first competition' every 3 to 5 years. This is a measure to break away from the existing partner operation method and expand market entry opportunities for excellent suppliers.

Second, KT will differentiate volumes through competitive bidding among partners and establish a system that allows outstanding external suppliers not in the partner pool to participate in the competition when necessary. Additionally, direct contracts with partners will be limited to unavoidable areas to activate a competitive structure.

Third, KT will change the existing partner classification system to fit AICT. Previously, partners were managed by dividing them into 'SW development,' 'materials,' 'construction,' and 'services.' Going forward, SW development will be changed to AI·IT and operated in an open format. Accordingly, all companies in the AI, cloud, and big data fields can be selected as partners. For materials, it will be subdivided into 'equipment·materials,' forming partners in the DX area including ICT, construction will be expanded to 'construction·execution,' and services will be expanded to 'services·design' in terms of work scope.

Fourth, KT will establish and implement purchasing principles that the KT Group must comply with. From now on, the KT Group will ▲operate all purchases under the management of the purchasing department, ▲make all contracts based on competition, ▲select partners transparently and prohibit arbitrary selection outside procedures, and ▲thoroughly manage risks by complying with relevant laws and establishing business ethics.

Finally, KT plans to integrate individual purchasing systems into a next-generation purchasing platform to enhance the visibility and transparency of purchasing data, and apply AI and electronic contract systems to strengthen the work efficiency of partners and employees.

Meanwhile, on the 7th, KT held the '10th KT Partner's Day 2025' at the Sofitel Ambassador in Seoul to share performance and communicate with partners.

Vice President Lim Hyun-kyu, head of KT's Management Support Division, along with key executives of the KT Group, attended to share this year's business direction and purchasing strategy, and explained the fair and transparent purchasing principles to establish a fair and transparent relationship between KT and its partners.