[Edaily Marketin Reporter LEE GEON-EOM ] SKTelecom(017670)As SK Telecom has decided to establish “SK Hyper,” a subsidiary dedicated to its artificial intelligence (AI) data center business, analysts suggest that the establishment of this subsidiary could lead to an expansion in the scale of investment in non-telecom businesses. While the impact on short-term creditworthiness is expected to be limited, given the company’s strong profit-generating capacity and asset base, experts note that monitoring trends in medium- to long-term financial burdens is necessary.

Korea Credit Rating Agency (KCR) and NICEHoldings (NICE) made these remarks in a commentary released on the 27th regarding SKTelecom’s “decision to establish and invest in SK Hyper.”

Previously, on the 23rd, SKTelecom announced via a board resolution that it would establish SK Hyper, a subsidiary dedicated to the AI data center business, and invest a total of 750 billion won. SKTelecom will acquire 100% of SK Hyper’s shares. It plans to make an initial investment of 330 billion won in July 2026, followed by the remaining 420 billion won in installments through December 2030, depending on the progress of the business.

SK Hyper will focus on business development, including securing land and power infrastructure for the construction of AI data centers over the medium to long term. Han Shin Rating noted that, in addition to establishing SK Hyper, SKTelecom is seeing an increasing trend in AI-related investment needs, such as the acquisition of a stake in SK hynix’s NAND Product Solutions.

Yoo Young-bin, a senior researcher at Han Shin Rating, stated, “Despite the USIM data breach incident, the company is maintaining a surplus cash position by covering investment expenditures and other costs based on its continued strong cash generation capabilities,” adding “However, the establishment of this subsidiary could expand the scale of investment in non-telecom businesses, and in that case, the financial burden could increase beyond current levels in the medium to long term. Therefore, we plan to continuously monitor the progress of the new AI data center development project and the scale of capital expenditures,” he added.

Na Shin-pyeong also assessed that the immediate impact on the credit rating would be limited, citing SKTelecom’s ample financial flexibility and the installment payment structure.

Song Young-jin, a senior researcher at Nara Credit Rating, stated, “The company has recovered its pre-accident level of profitability, recording consolidated EBITDA of 1.4 trillion won in the first quarter of 2026 and holding cash and cash equivalents of 1.8 trillion won,” “However, as investment needs to secure new AI-centered growth engines will continue in the short to medium term, we plan to monitor the annual scale of capital contributions and trends in financial stability resulting from the expansion of non-telecom businesses.”

Han Shin Rating and Na Shin Rating project that SKTelecom’s short-term financial burden will remain at a manageable level, based on reduced 5G recurring CAPEX and the company’s own cash generation capacity; however, they intend to continue monitoring potential changes in its financial structure resulting from expanded investment in non-telecom sectors.