KT had the lowest compliance rate with key corporate governance indicators among the three domestic telecom corporations. The shortfall stemmed from not meeting the items on giving notice of the shareholders meeting four weeks in advance and board gender diversity. In contrast, SK Telecom met all 15 key indicators for a 100% compliance rate, and LG Uplus satisfied 14 items, excluding cumulative voting.
On the 15th, ChosunBiz analyzed the telecom three corporations' corporate governance reports (based on 2025) and found KT complied with 13 of the 15 key corporate governance indicators, posting an 86.7% compliance rate. SK Telecom complied with all 15 items, and LG Uplus complied with 14 items, coming in at 100% and 93.3%, respectively.
The key corporate governance indicators are standards that evaluate listed companies' protection of shareholder rights, board independence, and the level of audit body operations. They include giving notice of the shareholders meeting four weeks in advance, implementing electronic voting, adopting cumulative voting, board gender diversity, and whether a chief executive officer (CEO) succession policy is in place and operated. Domestic and foreign investors refer to these indicators to judge how boards are run and how shareholder-friendly corporations are.
The items KT did not meet were two: "giving notice of the shareholders meeting four weeks in advance" and "the board is not composed entirely of a single gender." Over the past three years, KT issued all regular shareholders meeting notices 21 days before the meetings. The 42nd regular shareholders meeting was held on Mar. 28, 2024, and the notice date was Mar. 7 of the same month. The 43rd and 44th regular shareholders meetings were also held on Mar. 31, 2025, and Mar. 31, 2026, respectively, with both notices dated Mar. 10. In the report, KT said, "Considering the settlement of account schedule such as preparing financial statements, we give notice of the shareholders meeting three weeks in advance."
Under the Commercial Act, notice of a shareholders meeting may be given up to two weeks in advance, but the Korea Exchange (KRX) key corporate governance indicator standard calls for notice four weeks in advance. While the formal legal requirement was met, it fell short of the recommended standard in terms of ensuring shareholders have time to fully review the agenda and prepare to exercise their voting rights.
The board gender diversity item was also classified as noncompliant. KT said it did not meet the indicator as of 2025 because former outside director Cho Seung-a, the only female outside director last year, resigned due to a disqualification issue. However, with the appointment of outside director Kwon Myung-sook in March this year, the board now includes a female director.
SK Telecom met all 15 key corporate governance indicators last year. In particular, it improved the items that remained noncompliant as of 2024—"giving notice of the shareholders meeting four weeks in advance" and "establishing and operating a chief executive officer (CEO) succession policy." SK Telecom's regular shareholders meeting this year was held on Mar. 26, and the notice date was Feb. 25. With 29 days from the notice to the meeting, it satisfied the four-weeks notice standard. By refining the framework to establish and operate the CEO succession policy, that item also shifted to compliant.
LG Uplus met 14 of the 15 key indicators. The only noncompliant item was cumulative voting. Cumulative voting is a system that allows shareholders, when appointing two or more directors, to concentrate their voting rights on a specific candidate. It is regarded as a mechanism that increases the likelihood of minority shareholders entering the board. However, at this year's regular shareholders meeting, LG Uplus deleted from its articles of incorporation the clause excluding cumulative voting and said it plans to introduce the system in line with the implementation schedule of the amended Commercial Act.
A telecom industry official said, "Telecommunications is an industry with complex interests surrounding large-scale capital expenditure, regulatory issues, and CEO appointment processes," adding, "For this reason, the transparency of telecom companies' governance is evaluated as a factor that goes beyond simple disclosure indicators to determine mid- to long-term corporate value and shareholder trust."