SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus will speed up development of new technologies this year in a bid to diversify their business portfolios and provide customers with more innovative experiences, according to the heads of the companies.
SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho said in his New Year's message that the nation's top mobile carrier will be at the forefront of changes through artificial intelligence (AI)-powered innovation.
He cited the need for transforming the existing work environment into AI-based smart offices, calling on employees to exercise their imagination and pursue innovation continuously.
"We also need to become a company that pre-emptively suggests solutions to various challenges facing society such as the aging population," he said.
KT Chairman and CEO Hwang Chang-gyu also called on employees during the company's New Year event to muster all their ability and enthusiasm to create technological innovation that makes life more convenient.
"KT will become an AI company based on fifth-generation (5G) networks and will create innovative and distinguished value so we can lead an era in which people enjoy AI everywhere," Hwang said.
Some 200 employees attended the event at KT's headquarters in central Seoul.
Koo Hyun-mo, head of the company's customer and media division who will be officially appointed as KT's new leader in March, also participated, along with union head Kim Hae-gwan.
Participants also shared 2019's achievements, including commercializing the world's first 5G network and securing more than 8 million subscribers for its internet protocol television service.
For his part, LG Uplus Vice Chairman Ha Hyun-hwoi vowed to push for digital transformation in all business areas to improve people's lives.
In his New Year's address to employees via a mobile phone application, Ha said the company has successfully secured competitiveness in 5G and established a foundation for its future business by taking over the nation's No. 1 cable TV operator CJ Hello.
But he noted that it would be difficult to understand customer needs accurately and provide them with differentiated services if the company clings to existing ways of working.
"We need to actively push for digital transformation in all business areas and innovate processes and systems to produce tangible results that enable customers to enjoy smarter lifestyles," Ha said. "We need to raise our capability in AI, big data and cloud computing."
He said 5G, which began as business-to-customer services, will be expanded to business-to-business services.
Source: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2020/01/133_281290.html