On the 29th, SK Telecom, celebrating its 40th anniversary, has unveiled the top 10 Moments that have colored the company’s history over the past four decades in their newsroom.
The unveiled ten moments were selected through the direct participation of over 1,000 SKT employees and around 100 external stakeholders, including key business partners, showcasing the ten most significant moments over the last 40 years, from the acquisition of the predecessor Korea Mobile Telecommunications to the current jump towards becoming a global AI company.
The first moment selected was the return of the second mobile telecommunications license and the subsequent entry into the mobile telecommunications business through the acquisition of Korea Mobile Telecommunications.
In 1992, the predecessor of SK Group, Sunkyung, won the second mobile telecommunications license by an overwhelming score, but due to the political situation at the time, they returned the license just a week later. Subsequently, in 1994, they entered the mobile telecommunications business through a public auction to acquire Korea Mobile Telecommunications, which was in the process of privatization.
Following this, the moments that showcased SKT’s technical competitiveness, raising it to the ranks of the world’s best telecommunications company, included the world’s first commercialization of CDMA and the birth of the Speed011 brand, as well as the leadership in mobile telecommunications technology from 3G to 5G.
Examples of aggressive M&A activities, such as the acquisitions of Shinsegi Telecom, Hanaro Telecom (now SK Broadband), and Hynix, which expanded operations and improved corporate restructuring, also made the list.
Additionally, moments such as the 2002 World Cup ‘Be The Reds’ campaign, which sparked support culture in South Korea, the birth of the ‘T’ brand representative of SKT since 2006, and the achievement of a Grand Slam in domestic customer satisfaction indices (NCSI, KCSI, KS-SQI) for 24 consecutive years are also part of the 40-year history.
The final tenth moment selected is the transformation towards becoming a ‘Global AI Company’ that is accelerating based on the AI pyramid strategy.
Last year, SKT publicly announced its ‘AI Pyramid Strategy,’ integrating AI into core businesses based on AI infrastructure, and is preparing for a new future as a global AI company, built on self-improvement and collaboration.
Detailed information and photos from SKT’s 40-year Top 10 Moments can be found in the SKT newsroom.
Park Kyuhyun, Vice President of Digital Comm at SKT, stated, “The efforts and achievements of SKT, which has led the history of mobile telecommunications in Korea, will serve as a great source of strength for the future we will face,” and added, “We will do our best to create new moments as SKT grows as a global AI company that meets the expectations of customers and society.”
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr