[E-Daily Reporter Yun Junghoon ] As global Big Tech companies and telecommunications firms pour astronomical amounts of capital into the race for dominance in artificial intelligence (AI), KTCorporation(030200)has presented a blueprint for the future that is strictly focused on “profitability.”

The company plans to leap forward as an “AX (AI Transformation) platform company” that generates solid profits by moving beyond simply providing telecommunications networks and establishing “a new economic ecosystem based on AI token-based billing” and “AI infrastructure centered on actual demand” as its two main revenue streams.

KTCorporation announced on the 6th that it will invest a total of 18 trillion won over the next five years, including 12 trillion won to strengthen information security and network competitiveness, and 6 trillion won to build AI infrastructure such as AI data centers (AIDC).

At a press conference held on the day marking his 100th day in office, KTCorporation CEO Park Yoon-young emphasized, “The essence of KTCorporation in the AI era is connecting people with AI, and AI with AI,” adding, “KTCorporation’s AX platform strategy is to provide the stage and spotlight where customers can shine the brightest.”

“AI Must Ultimately Generate Revenue”… A Demand-Driven AIDC Strategy

KTCorporation’s strategy differs from the large-scale upfront investment approaches of global Big Tech companies or SKTelecom. Its core lies in “pragmatism”—combining existing telecommunications infrastructure with AI software and expanding infrastructure in line with actual customer demand.

KTCorporation plans to invest 5 trillion won over the next five years to build an AI data center with a capacity of 1 GW. The company has adopted a two-pronged strategy: proactively expanding in the Seoul metropolitan area, while in non-metropolitan regions, expanding in phases only after securing tenant companies. This approach is intended to minimize the risk of vacant space and maximize investment efficiency.

The company is also pursuing an “AI Edge” strategy utilizing its 3,500 telecommunications offices nationwide. AI Edge is a technology that processes data in real time at locations close to users, rather than at a central data center. KTCorporation plans to leverage its existing network of offices to secure a leading position in the ultra-low-latency AI inference market for the era of physical AI and autonomous driving.

KT to Invest 1 Trillion Won in Submarine Cables to Meet AI Demand... Will Also Protect Satellite Sovereignty

As AI services expand, the volume of data flowing between countries is expected to surge.

KTCorporation will invest 1 trillion won over the next five years to expand international submarine cable capacity from the current 38 Tbps to over 128 Tbps. This is part of a strategy to proactively secure the “data highway,” a core infrastructure of the AI era.

CEO Park stated, “International data traffic is expected to increase more than eightfold due to the spread of AI,” adding, “We are also considering ways to secure investment funds by partnering with global Big Tech companies that have significant actual demand.”

Global submarine cables will support the government’s “Three Major Mega-Projects.” Ha Jeong-woo, former Senior Secretary for AI Future Planning, referred to global submarine cables—equipped with high capacity and low latency—as “global export routes.”

The company also plans to strengthen its satellite business. KTCorporation intends to expand the satellite ecosystem for the 6G era, centered on KT SAT—the only company in Korea to possess both geostationary orbit (GEO) and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite assets.

CEO Park emphasized, “South Korea must maintain its telecommunications sovereignty,” adding, “We will expand our ecosystem to include low-Earth orbit satellites and take responsibility for the nation’s connectivity infrastructure.”

Future Growth Engines: ‘Token Factory’ and ‘Stablecoin’

KTCorporation also presented an AI token-based billing business as a future growth engine. Tokens are the units in which the outputs generated by AI are processed.

CEO Park stated, “While AI has so far been centered on flat-rate monthly subscription fees, we are now entering an era of pay-as-you-go billing,” adding confidently, “Since billing is what telecommunications companies do best, the core platform will be the ‘Token Gateway.’”

Park Seong-won, Head of the AX Business Division, explained, “We will produce AI tokens at the lowest possible cost by optimizing the use of GPUs and NPUs, and reduce token consumption itself through context- and intent-based automatic routing.” He added, “We will fully launch the ‘Token Factory’ business, which efficiently operates various AI agents.”

KTCorporation is also pushing to build a stablecoin ecosystem linked with Kbank and BC Card. The company aims to build a financial platform that connects issuance, custody, remittances, and payments, with plans to expand into the ASEAN and Global South markets by 2028.

Doubling Security Staff... Significantly Expanding September New Graduate Hiring to 140 Positions

KTCorporation is also expanding its investments in security and talent as the foundation for its AI competitiveness.

It will double its company-wide security workforce and launch a new industry-academia collaboration program with Seoul National University to cultivate security experts at the group level. Major affiliates, including BC Card and Kbank, will also participate.

The company is also expanding its recruitment of new graduates. It has decided to increase the scale of its regular recruitment drive this coming September to more than 140 positions, more than doubling the hiring volume maintained over the past few years.

CEO Park Yoon-young said, “I am grateful to our employees who have stood by the company even during a leadership vacuum,” adding, “With all members moving toward the same goal, we will leap forward to become South Korea’s leading AX platform company.”