Jung Jai-hun, president of SK Telecom, Park Yoon-young, president of KT, and Hong Bum-Shik, president of LG Uplus, held a meeting on the 9th with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Bae Kyung-hoon of the Ministry of Science and ICT and issued a "joint declaration" focusing on △ strengthening security systems △ expanding tangible, felt benefits △ expanding investment and innovation in artificial intelligence (AI). After incidents such as the SK Telecom USIM data leak in April last year, the KT small-payment breach in August the same year, and the USIM identification number controversy at LG Uplus in March, the CEOs of the three telecom companies reaffirmed their resolve to reform.
The three telecom CEOs read out the joint declaration at the Korea Science and Technology Center in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, saying they "promise to add peace of mind to people's daily lives, make livelihoods more prosperous, and add new opportunities for the future."
They said, "The three telecom companies will take lessons from past hacking incidents to strengthen a safer and more reliable security system, build a solid foundation that does not waver in the face of any cyberthreat, and ensure people's digital safety," and added, "We will actively cooperate with the government's policy to guarantee basic communications rights for all people and work to expand tangible, felt benefits so that everyone can enjoy top-quality telecom services." They went on to pledge, "We will make active efforts to expand investment in telecom and next-generation AI networks and take the lead in securing future growth engines so that Korea can lead global digital leadership through innovation in new AI industries."
This meeting was the first time the deputy prime minister and the heads of the three telecom companies gathered together after the official inaugurations of the new chiefs of SK Telecom and KT. The Ministry of Science and ICT said the session was arranged to consider and discuss how, amid a rapidly changing telecom environment, the industry can regain public trust and address both livelihoods and the future.
Before the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said in opening remarks, "After last year's hacking incidents, the weight of telecom companies' responsibilities and roles has become even clearer," emphasizing, "Now is the time to go beyond a pledge not to repeat mistakes and respond with a metamorphic level of reform and contributions that people can feel." He added, "It is important to contribute to livelihoods by guaranteeing basic communications rights for all people and to lead the future of an AI-basic society through active investment."
Bae raised the agenda of restoring trust and called for all-out efforts to prevent a recurrence with a determination to completely change the security paradigm. He also asked for cooperation in preparing necessary measures such as counseling and damage reporting and intake in accordance with revisions to the "Digital Inclusion Act," which supports digitally vulnerable groups in the event of an intrusion incident. On the livelihoods agenda, the three telecom companies agreed to the government's basic communications rights policy that guarantees basic data use in an era when AI use becomes routine and to cooperate in implementing it. Furthermore, they agreed to swiftly push ahead with reforming the fee system, including expanding voice and text offerings for seniors and launching integrated plans that include 5G plans in the 20,000-won range.
The three telecom companies agreed to continue efforts to improve quality so that people can use higher-quality services on public transportation, such as upgrading subway Wi-Fi (LTE→5G) and improving high-speed rail quality, and said they would work together to ensure that services for the public based on proprietary AI models can be developed and provided by leveraging telecom platforms that directly engage the public. Noting that in large-scale disasters such as wildfires and fires, just a few seconds of delay in rescue communications can determine the success or failure of saving lives, they announced plans to prioritize emergency rescue communications for the National Fire Agency on commercial networks and asked the three telecom companies to cooperate so the service can start quickly.
On the future-leading agenda, while receiving the three companies' investment plans, they made clear that investing in next-generation, intelligent networks to support the AI era is not optional but an essential national infrastructure investment. The government said it plans to actively support research and development (R&D) to secure super-gap AI network technologies and large-scale demonstration projects to create preemptive demand, and urged the three telecom companies to actively expand core telecom investments, including next-generation communications networks that lay the groundwork for completing the AI expressway, as well as AIDC (data center) investment.
Regarding potential fluctuations in raw material supply and supply chains due to the recent situation in the Middle East, they asked that relevant sites be closely examined and that responses be well managed to prevent disruptions in providing telecom services.
Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said, "To ensure today's meeting agendas do not end as one-off discussions, we will make these meetings regular and strengthen public-private cooperation so that tangible results that people can feel are carried out in the field without a hitch," adding, "As telecommunications are a core foundation of people's lives and national competitiveness, we hope the telecom industry can play a central role in contributing to stabilizing livelihoods and strengthening global leadership in the AI era."