[Edaily Reporter Yun Junghoon ] On the 6th,SKTelecom(017670)announced that, ahead of the 578th Hangul Day, it has developed and will implement a digital language standard called the “UX Writing Guide,” which uses intuitive language that customers can easily understand and reflects the emotional journey of the user experience.

The core of this guide is to incorporate the original intent behind the creation of Hangul—that it should be easy for anyone to learn and use comfortably—into the language of mobile and digital services. It focuses on helping customers intuitively understand the messages they encounter while using the service and naturally proceed to the next required action.

SKT’s Customer Language Research Team established this guide based on surveys of customers and employees, as well as consultations with language experts. In particular, the team introduced a “Customer Emotion Map” that provides an at-a-glance overview of the service journey and emotional flow, establishing criteria for crafting messages tailored to customer emotions in various situations—such as anticipation, anxiety, confusion, suspicion, and satisfaction.

As a result, existing one-sided, accusatory phrasing has been significantly improved. For example, when a password is entered incorrectly, the guidance has shifted from the accusatory “You entered it incorrectly” to “Please double-check your password.” Similarly, the vague message “The service is currently unavailable” has been replaced with “The service is available from 6:00 AM to midnight. “Would you like a notification when the service is available?”

The four communication principles proposed by SKT Corporation are: △ simple △ helpful △ trustworthy △ empathetic language.

Difficult Sino-Korean terms and specialized IT jargon will be extensively replaced with everyday language. “It is inconsistent” will be changed to “It is different,” and “Your session has expired” will be changed to “Your login time has expired.” Reflecting changing times, “best-selling product” is changed to “popular product,” and “parental consent” is changed to “guardian consent,” incorporating social sensitivity standards that avoid generalizing or excluding specific groups. To enhance accessibility, the guidelines ensure that emojis do not replace text and include precautions that do not specify skin color or gender.

To improve the guide’s practical applicability, the company is also introducing “Sotong-i,” an in-house Agent AI.

“Sotong-i” is an AI solution trained on 23 types of internal communication guidelines—including the UX Writing Guide—and over 50,000 instances of language review data. It not only reviews the appropriateness of rapidly evolving neologisms but also detects potential risks in text and images in real time, suggesting better alternatives. Its scope of application covers all SKT customer touchpoints, including banners, product and event pages, and announcements.

Lee Hye-yeon, Head of SKT’s Customer Value Innovation Division, stated, “Every line of text a customer encounters in our services is a message we convey to SKT customers.” She added, “Through this guide and ‘Sotong-i,’ unveiled in celebration of Hangul Day, we will transform the customer experience using empathetic language that prioritizes understanding our customers’ perspectives.”