[MWC26] Jaeheon Jung, SKT CEO: "Focusing on Customers, the Essence of Our Business... Achieving AI Innovation"

Jaeheon Jung Holds First Press Conference as CEO
"Leading a Major Transformation Centered on Customer Value and AI"
"Investing Over Trillions of Won in AI Transformation... A Matter of Survival"
"The Essence of Our Business Lies with the Customer"
Prioritizing Customer Convenience Above All
Building 1GW-Class AI Data Centers and Expanding A.DotX K1 Model

SK Telecom is embarking on a major transformation to embrace the era of artificial intelligence (AI). The company plans to overhaul both its working methods and infrastructure to be AI-based, while also reorganizing its services to be more customer-centric.

On March 1 (local time), one day before the opening of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2026, Jaeheon Jung, CEO and President of SK Telecom, held a press conference at Le Meridien Barcelona Hotel in Barcelona, Spain, where he unveiled SK Telecom’s AI-native innovation strategy and outlined measures to strengthen its core business competitiveness with a focus on customers.

Jaeheon Jung, CEO and President of SK Telecom, is speaking at a press conference held at Le Meridien Barcelona Hotel in Barcelona, Spain, on the 1st (local time). Provided by SK Telecom

Jung stated, “Amid the convergence environment in which AI is breaking down barriers between industries, SK Telecom finds itself at a golden intersection where the tasks of ‘customer value innovation’ and ‘AI innovation’ converge. We define our customers as the essence of our business, and we will achieve transformation and innovation through AI.”

Becoming an 'AI-Centric' Telco... Introducing AI to Work Processes

First, SK Telecom will undertake a sweeping transformation by applying AI to all areas of telecommunications. To this end, the company will redesign its integrated information system, which underpins its telecom services, to be optimized for AI. Jung emphasized, “Our work systems and network infrastructure were built before the advent of AI, and thus are not AI-friendly. We need to change this, and we are prepared to make bold investments costing trillions of won. We see the AI transformation (AX) as a matter of survival for us, and we are moving forward accordingly.”

SK Telecom will build all its integrated systems-including sales information, line management, and billing systems-around AI. Through this, the company aims to offer personalized rate plans and memberships that reflect individual customer needs. At every stage, information security frameworks will be established within all systems.

The company will also accelerate its strategy for an “autonomous operating network,” which leverages AI to automate all aspects of network operations. By shifting from human-centered operations to an AI-based autonomous system, SK Telecom aims to enhance communication quality. The company will implement ultra-low-latency communications using AI-RAN technology, which enables wireless environments to self-learn.

Redesigning Services to Be 'Customer-Friendly'... "Transforming with the Customer at the Center"

Myungjin Han, Head of SK Telecom MNO CIC, Jaehun Jung, CEO of SK Telecom, Seokgeun Jung, Head of AI CIC, and Kyungsang Yoo, AI CIC Head, are answering questions at a press conference held on the 1st (local time) at Le Meridien Barcelona Hotel in Barcelona, Spain. (From left) Provided by SK Telecom

SK Telecom plans to redesign its telecom services and products to be customer-friendly and will strengthen two-way communication with its customers.

During this process, Jung expressed regret over last year’s large-scale SK Telecom USIM (Universal Subscriber Identity Module) information leak incident. He reflected, “The essence of our business lies with our customers, and that is our source of competitiveness. We took this too lightly, which led to the hacking incident.”

To address this, rate plans, roaming, and memberships will be reconstructed in an intuitive manner, and customers will receive automatically tailored packages for maximum convenience. For example, when a customer first applies for a roaming service, information about roaming discounts and in-flight Wi-Fi promotions will be provided; after a trip, a data recharge coupon for the next journey will be sent immediately. The company is also working on an “integrated AI agent” that connects all channels, such as T World and T Direct Shop, into a single platform.

Additionally, SK Telecom will upgrade its AI-based customer center (AI Contact Center, AICC), enabling all consultants to utilize AI to provide accurate and rapid customer service. The company also plans to introduce ultra-personalized curation services at offline stores. There are also plans to advance the A.Dot phone service into an AI agent. The goal is to automate the organization of call notes and schedules and connect services so that the agent can perform actual actions on the customer’s behalf.

Building Hyper-Scale AI DC Infrastructure... "SK Telecom Is an AI Full-Stack Company"

Jaehun Jung, CEO of SK Telecom, is making a statement at a press conference held on the 1st (local time) at Le Meridien Barcelona Hotel in Barcelona, Spain. Provided by SK Telecom

The company is also planning to actively invest in AI infrastructure and models. Jung declared, “I can boldly say that SK Telecom is an AI full-stack company. The most important infrastructure we are preparing is the construction of AI data centers (AI DCs).”

SK Telecom is currently building AI data centers, including the GPU cluster “Haein,” and plans to expand them to a hyper-scale level of over 1GW through global partnerships. By adding the AI data center in the southwestern region, which is being built in collaboration with OpenAI, the company aims to create an “AI infrastructure belt.”

In the AI model sector, the company plans to upgrade its proprietary foundation AI model “A.DotX K1,” which currently has 51.9 billion (519B) parameters, to a level exceeding 100 billion (1000B) parameters. In particular, SK Telecom will focus on advancing multimodal technology so that, starting with image data, it will be able to process voice and video data in the second half of this year.

Jung noted, “By combining SK Telecom’s AI capabilities with collaboration from domestic and international partners, we will drive genuine AI adoption for customers and businesses in Korea.”

Jung’s ambition is to find new opportunities through changes that adhere to the fundamentals. Referring to the completion of the central spire of the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, Spain, in mid-February, he commented, “The Sagrada Familia is being built by many people who are bringing about creative change while adhering to the framework of fundamentals and principles, and thus it becomes a building that will last forever. I believe SK Telecom must move forward in the same way.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.