[From Top Technologists]⑧ "As Comfortable as Human Staff... Introducing the Most Human-like AI Counselor"

Lee Sangyeop, CTO of LG Uplus, Interview
AI-Based Custom Task and Service Design
Becoming an AI Native Company Is the Goal
AI Chatbot Handles Plan Consultation and Subscription
First Applied to Roaming Products Within Two Months
Security Ensured with Trusted Intelligence
'On-device sLM' to Be Developed Within the Year
Aiming to Utilize AI Functions Within the Phone
Leading Services for the 'Beta Generation'

Editor's NoteSouth Korea's industry is facing a comprehensive crisis. The sharp rise in raw material prices, the restructuring of global supply chains, and the US-China trade conflicts have compounded to worsen the business environment. The key to overcoming this crisis ultimately lies in technology. Technology is the lifeline and the value of existence for companies. This is also why companies are placing greater emphasis on the role of Chief Technology Officers (CTOs). CTOs have established themselves not only as developers of new technologies but also as strategists who analyze changing markets and present future visions for their companies. Asia Economy met with CTOs of major domestic companies to hear about the core technologies and differentiation strategies that each industry is focusing on. Through the technology strategies of leading companies, we seek ways to enhance the competitiveness of our industries and create future value.

Until now, the AI chatbots used in call centers were entities that gave only formulaic answers no matter what was asked. There was no feeling of conversing with a human agent at all. Frustrated, users often turned off the chatbot function and preferred to communicate with a 'human employee' even if it took longer to connect by phone.

LG Uplus is preparing to target a niche market. They plan to introduce the 'most human-like AI' that understands everyday language, comprehends context, conducts consultations, and even subscribes customers to necessary products.

Lee Sang-yeop, CTO of LG Uplus, is being interviewed by Asia Economy at the LG Uplus Magok office. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju

Lee Sang-yeop, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) leading this AI technology development at LG Uplus, recently told Asia Economy in an interview, "Until now, AI was simply integrated into existing tasks and services, but going forward, we need to redesign tasks and services themselves to fit AI." He added, "Through this process, our goal is for LG Uplus to become an 'AI native company.'"

Lee EVP revealed plans to launch the 'AI Contact Center' service within two months as the first step toward becoming AI native. He explained, "For example, if a customer says, 'I'm going on a trip to Vietnam next week. Please subscribe me to the cheapest roaming data plan,' the AI chatbot will conduct a natural conversation, provide consultation, and complete the subscription all at once. This is the first system of its kind among domestic telecom companies."

The summer vacation season is expected to be the testing ground. The AI Contact Center service will first be applied to LG Uplus roaming products for overseas travelers. Lee EVP said, "For customers traveling to Vietnam, the AI will not only provide roaming product information but also offer services such as local weather updates and important travel advisories."

For AI to instantly process customer requests and connect to actual services quickly, smoothly, and seamlessly, it is crucial that the information processing system operates efficiently. Lee EVP stated, "No matter how well AI understands, if the underlying business processes are not fast, it is useless. Completing this work first among telecom companies is our competitive edge."

LG Uplus has been upgrading its core business management central operating system, 'Next-generation UCube,' for the past two years. This system processes 190 million customer transactions daily, including subscriptions, billing, settlements, and complaints. It integrates and connects various business areas into one and increases data processing speed. Lee EVP said, "When customers call the call center and give actual instructions such as changing plans or subscribing to roaming, UCube operates quickly and organically, enabling the AI counselor to process requests immediately."

Security First, Gradual AI Technology Adoption with 4A Strategy

Security is considered as important as AI technology development. Lee EVP said, "If you train models with data of unclear origin focusing only on performance, it may perform well in the short term, but in the long term, copyright issues or personal information leaks may arise. To properly provide AI assistants to individual customers and AI contact center services to corporate clients, we must devote as much technological capability to 'trusted intelligence' as to artificial intelligence."

LG Uplus has introduced an AI security system called 'IXI Guardian.' IXI Guardian consists of 'Anti-Deep Voice,' which detects forged voices, 'On-device sLM (small language model),' which prevents personal information from leaking externally, and 'Quantum Cryptography,' which cannot be breached by conventional hacking methods.

LG Uplus employees discussing the 'Anti-Deep Voice' technology. Photo by LG Uplus

'On-device sLM' is planned to be developed and commercialized within this year. Lee EVP said, "When processing customers' sensitive data, we will handle it within the device without transmitting data to external servers while still utilizing AI functions. We are currently working on solving heat generation and battery consumption issues and on model lightweighting."

He added, "At the end of last month, we also obtained the 'Cloud Service Security Authentication (CSAP),' a mandatory requirement for providing cloud services to public institutions. This means we have been officially recognized for having high-level security technology required by the government."

"We Will Transform into an 'AI Native Company'"

LG Uplus is also strengthening cooperation with global big tech companies such as Google. LG Uplus uses Google's search engine and YouTube data to train its AI call assistant 'ixi-O.' Lee EVP said, "Globally, real-time assistant services operating during calls are a differentiated technology unique to us. Thanks to this technological capability, big tech companies are also interested in collaborating with us."

Lee EVP is already looking ahead to the next 10 years. This is because services must be prepared for future new customer segments.

"The generation born from 2025 is called the 'Beta Generation,' who grow up with AI beyond the 'Alpha Generation' familiar with digital technology. Developing services for them will be essential for survival. We are working as one team to bring AI models developed by LG AI Research Institute and create new AI services specialized with telecom data. My goal is for LG Uplus to become an 'AI native company.'"

Lee Sang-yeop, CTO of LG Uplus, is giving an interview to Asia Economy at the LG Uplus Magok office. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju