SK Telecom Union Opposes Sale of Pangyo SK Planet Building...Company Says "No Final Decision"

SK Telecom is reportedly considering selling the SK Planet building in Pangyo to secure funds for investments in future growth engines such as artificial intelligence (AI).

According to the telecommunications industry on April 22, SK Telecom is pushing to sell the SK Planet building located on Pangyo-ro. In 2019, SK Telecom acquired a 59.8% stake in this building from SK Planet for approximately 77.9 billion won. The current sale under consideration involves this stake.

This move is seen as an effort to raise the necessary capital as SK Telecom expands its business beyond its core telecommunications operations into areas such as AI data centers and AI assistant services.

The SK Telecom labor union has taken a strong stance, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the sale. In an email to members, the union leader stated, "The company is trying to sell a perfectly good building even though its financial statements are not in bad shape," and protested, "Does it make sense to sell the building and then lease it back, turning the rent into group profits?"

He referenced the sale of the Namsan Green Building by SK Telecom in 2012 to acquire SK Hynix, emphasizing, "If we still owned the Green Building, we wouldn't have to pay unnecessary operating costs like building rent."

He also pointed out that there was an attempt to sell the T Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul in 2021, but the union blocked it, and he demanded that the company immediately withdraw the Pangyo building sale process.

SK Telecom maintains that nothing has been decided yet. An SK Telecom representative said, "We are reviewing various options to secure funds for future growth investments amid global economic uncertainty, but nothing has been finalized."

In September 2023, SK Telecom announced its leap toward becoming an AI company by unveiling its AI Pyramid Strategy for the first time. This year, the company introduced a more refined 2.0 strategy, declaring its intention to generate substantial profits through AI.