[E-Daily Reporter Yun Junghoon ]KTCorporation(030200)is poised to make a fresh leap forward as an “AX (AI Transformation) Platform Company,” driving South Korea’s AX by combining the core network capabilities of a national telecommunications carrier with artificial intelligence (AI) innovation. Over the next three years, the company will embark on a large-scale investment totaling 18 trillion won, including 12 trillion won to strengthen core competencies such as information security and networking, and 6 trillion won to build infrastructure such as AI data centers (AIDCs).

KTCorporation CEO Park Yoon-young held his first press conference since taking office on the 6th at the Pullman Ambassador Seoul Eastpol Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, and announced key strategies outlining these plans.

In the 100 days since taking office, CEO Park has toured sites nationwide to inspect core telecommunications infrastructure—such as information security and network facilities—and to solidify the foundation for future growth.

CEO Park emphasized, “Even in the AX era, where the scope of connectivity is expanding from a people-centered to an AI-centered approach, KTCorporation’s core mission of ensuring connectivity in South Korea remains unchanged,” adding, “We will further solidify the fundamentals of the telecommunications industry and achieve solid growth on that foundation.”

Below is a summary of responses from CEO Park Yoon-young, KTCorporation Cloud CEO Kim Bong-kyun, and Park Sang-won, Head of KTCorporation’s AX Business Division.

Q. You have marked 100 days since taking office. What achievements and reflections have you gained through your communication with the field?

△CEO Park Yoon-young: First and foremost, I expressed my gratitude to the employees who steadfastly held their posts despite the leadership vacuum. While touring the field, I identified issues we absolutely needed to address—such as security, networks, and R&D—and incorporated them into our strategy. Ultimately, work is done by people. Confirming the sincerity and determination of our employees has been my greatest source of strength, and as a member of senior management, I feel a heavy sense of responsibility.

Q. Some have pointed out that there is a disparity in the scale of investment in AI infrastructure (AIDC) compared to other companies, such as SK Group, and Big Tech firms. What are KTCorporation’s unique strengths and differentiation strategies?

△CEO Park Yoon-young: Rather than simply comparing the scale of investment with other companies, we will execute tangible (feasible) investments based strictly on “actual demand” within the scope that KTCorporation can manage. The most important factors in AIDC operations are experience in managing power efficiency and cooling. The know-how KTCorporation has accumulated in areas such as ultra-high-density rack deployment and building design is our unique strength.

△Kim Bong-kyun, CEO of KT Cloud (Executive Vice President): On the supply side, we are employing a dual-track strategy. In non-metropolitan areas, we will secure tenants first before providing facilities, while in the Seoul metropolitan area—where development issues such as permits have been resolved—we will expand aggressively.

In terms of operations, we have moved beyond the traditional constant temperature and humidity control phase and are now operating South Korea’s first commercial “liquid cooling” system. KTCorporation is at the forefront of operational technology that goes beyond simply installing cooling equipment to actively controlling hydraulic pressure and flow rates to maintain optimal temperatures. Furthermore, KTCorporation is the only company capable of organically integrating telecommunications and infrastructure, including submarine cables and DCI (Data Center Interconnect) networks.

Q. You’ve identified “Token Factory” as a new business venture—a first for a telecommunications company. What are the specific business operations and revenue model?

△CEO Park Yoon-young: In the AI era, the basic unit of the economy is the “token,” and the transaction model is shifting toward pay-as-you-go. From a corporate perspective, this makes cost forecasting difficult and raises concerns about model selection; the key to solving this is the “token gateway.”

Here, the element that AI companies lack the most is ‘billing.’ Telecom carriers excel at billing capabilities that settle complex products and rate plans in real time. We will generate revenue by combining optimal routing with billing systems. We will prepare a Proof of Concept (PoC) set as soon as possible to demonstrate a concrete model.

△Park Sang-won, Head of the AX Business Division: The key is to produce and supply tokens as cheaply and efficiently as possible. We plan to apply optimization techniques that reduce token generation costs by optimizing resources such as GPUs and NPUs, while minimizing token usage itself through context- and intent-based automatic routing technology.

Q. What target sectors are you focusing on this year in particular to expand tangible results (contract wins) in the AI business?

△CEO Park Yoon-young: There are three main areas. In the financial sector, we are focusing on the adoption of “Agentic AI” to meet large-scale communication needs, and we support regulatory compliance based on our understanding of the industry.

In the public sector, we are taking an approach centered on “Sovereign AI” to address concerns about data leaks.

Finally, in the Physical AI sector (manufacturing, healthcare, etc.), we are actively participating in government pilot projects. Once “Edge AI” is deployed at KTCorporation’s 3,500 base stations nationwide, it will enable a real-time, ultra-low-latency inference environment with ease, serving as a powerful asset.

Q. Investing in submarine cables to prepare for the explosive growth in data traffic would likely impose a significant financial burden on KTCorporation to undertake alone. Is there a solution?

△CEO Park Yoon-young: We expect international data capacity to surge eightfold due to the expansion of AI data centers. We can handle the current level of capacity expansion in collaboration with large customers using dedicated networks. However, for large-scale projects involving the installation of entirely new dedicated submarine cable lines, rather than pursuing them alone, we are considering a model of joint capital procurement through collaboration with global Big Tech companies (CPs) that will use these lines the most.

Q. Large-scale investment plans have been announced, including 12 trillion won over three years for information security and networks, and 5 trillion won for AIDC. What are the specific implementation plans for each phase?

△Heo Tae-jun, Head of Strategy: Of the total 12 trillion won in core capacity-building investments—including 4 trillion won for security and 8 trillion won for networks—plans will be finalized this year, with nearly half of the funds concentrated in next year (2027). Full-scale implementation will begin in the second half of this year. As the 5 trillion won allocated to AIDC requires time for securing land, constructing buildings, and building infrastructure, it will be executed in phases over the next five years to align with actual demand.

Q. What are the specific future plans for recruiting talent, such as securing additional personnel to respond to security threats or the scale of new hires?

△CEO Park Yoon-young: Following the recruitment of a highly capable CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) from outside the company, we have doubled the size of our security team compared to previous levels. Rather than relying solely on external hires, we have partnered with Seoul National University to launch a new master’s program in cybersecurity to enhance the capabilities of our internal staff. We will raise the overall level of security awareness across the entire company.

△Lee Seon-ju, Head of Human Resources: We plan to announce a recruitment drive for new graduates this coming September. While the scale of new graduate hiring has been modest in recent years, we will significantly expand it this year to over 140 positions. Furthermore, regarding the Seoul National University industry-academia-research program mentioned by the CEO, we plan to systematically cultivate talent from a mid- to long-term perspective, with participation not only from KTCorporation headquarters but also from key group companies—such as BC Card and Kbank—where information security personnel are essential.