"Sales related to artificial intelligence (AI) are growing, but it is unclear when the right opportunity will come. Consequently, we expect that the initial target of achieving annual sales of 25 trillion won by 2028 will also be delayed."
Ryu Young-sang, president of SK Telecom, said this during a press conference held on March 2 (local time) in Barcelona, Spain, where the world's largest mobile exhibition, Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025, is taking place. Ryu noted, "While the revenue of data centers is stable, the situation is not the same for AI agents," adding, "If we hit a 'jackpot', we could see high sales, but we believe the probability is not high."
Earlier, Ryu set a goal to achieve sales of 25 trillion won by 2028 through the transition to an AI company and to grow it into a core business accounting for more than 30% of total sales.
Ryu explained that to improve AI sales, he would prioritize focusing on the data center business. He stated, "Ultimately, the B2C (business-to-consumer) AI model is expected to bring the highest revenue, but I believe the business that can secure revenue immediately is the AI DC (data center)," adding, "We aim to expand profitability through the 'modular' AIDC business, which assembles equipment according to client requests." He further mentioned, "Last year, the AIDC-related sales recorded about 400 billion won, and I believe we can achieve visible results this year by increasing the operating rate."
SK Telecom also presented a blueprint to enhance the B2C AI model over the long term to increase its business share. Jeong Seok-geun, head of SK Telecom's business division, stated, "The establishment process of the AI joint venture through the Global Telco AI Alliance (GTAA), which unites global telecommunications companies, is at the final stage," adding, "Telecommunications companies from various countries are gathering a lot of data to develop large language models (LLM)."
Jeong noted, "The AI agent 'Esther', created targeting the North American market, is planned to be advanced through collaboration with local telecommunications companies," adding, "There may be expenses incurred from partnerships, but we believe securing local customers is more important." Ryu stated, "We are also considering the possibility of collaborating with non-U.S. corporations in AI agent development," but clarified, "However, since most AI startups are concentrated in Silicon Valley, we plan to focus on the U.S. market first."