[Edaily Reporter Lee So-hyun] #SK Telecom is assigning employee ID numbers, job titles, and permissions to artificial intelligence (AI) agents, transforming into an organization where employees and AI work together.

SKT announced on the 16th that it is implementing “AX Innovation 2.0” to create an environment where employees can become more immersed in the AI transformation (AX).

SKT CEO Jeong Jae-heon presented a new direction for AI Transformation (AX) at the ‘2026 New Icheon Forum’ held recently at the SKMS Research Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, moving beyond ‘AX Innovation 1.0,’ which focused on improving on-site work efficiency. AX Innovation 2.0 focuses on fundamentally redesigning work processes to drive business model innovation for the company, going beyond simply using AI to boost organizational productivity.

First, SKT defined AI not merely as a tool to assist with tasks, but as a new entity that works alongside employees. AI agents are assigned employee ID numbers, departments, job roles, and permissions. They are managed through procedures similar to those for human employees, from onboarding to departure.

SKT is also establishing a governance framework for human-AI collaboration, including regulations on data and security access rights for AI agents. The vision is to ensure that AI agents have clear roles within the work system and collaborate with employees, thereby reducing repetitive tasks and creating an environment where employees can focus on creative and strategic work.

The company is also introducing the “AX Sandbox” system, which redesigns existing work processes using AI. The AX Sandbox is an internal experiment that reimagines work methods—which were previously carried out out of habit—from scratch using AI. A key feature is that it operates horizontally, without distinctions based on job title or department.

Over the past three months, SKT has piloted the AX Sandbox within select organizations under its AI CIC. During this process, the company confirmed the potential of a “multi-role” work model, in which a single person performs multiple roles—such as planning, development, and design—in collaboration with various AI agents. The company explained that this resulted in productivity gains by reducing the time required for planning tasks, as well as improvements in communication and decision-making speed.

SKT plans to gradually expand the AX Sandbox across the entire company. The company’s policy is to support employees in freely experimenting with and validating new work methods utilizing AI in real-world work environments. Through this, the goal is to foster a work culture that moves beyond the traditional division-of-labor structure, enabling faster planning, execution, and improvement in collaboration with AI.

The company is also enhancing its AI utilization environment. SKT is strengthening its security framework to ensure employees can use AI tools and agents safely and flexibly. It plans to integrate existing internal AI development platforms—such as A.dot Biz, Polaris, and Playground—and link them with key internal systems to increase AI usability across all business operations.

Internal systems to promote company-wide AX adoption will also be established. SKT plans to select “AX Catalysts” to drive AI transformation across all business areas. Employees selected as AX Catalysts will share their organizations’ best practices for AX success and play a role in resolving challenges faced by colleagues on the ground.

The company will also establish an education system that allows employees to learn about AX anytime, anywhere, and in the manner of their choice. In particular, the company plans to expand training programs focused on real-world case studies to ensure immediate practical application. The existing system for sharing AI transformation ideas will be upgraded to the “AX Library.” This measure aims to accumulate and disseminate employees’ challenges and success stories as company-wide assets.

SKT expects that AI agents will collaborate with employees in various work settings, such as briefing them on global trends and meeting agendas, or proposing concepts for planning, designing, and posting social media content. The company also anticipates that AI agents will be utilized in the operation of large-scale event networks to predict people’s movements and traffic demand, thereby refining the deployment of mobile base stations and traffic management strategies.

“By making AX a part of daily life, our employees’ time and capabilities will be transformed into a growth engine that drives new challenges,” said Jeong Jae-heon, CEO of SKT. “We will spare no effort in supporting our employees so they can freely build their AI capabilities and achieve results.”