[Edaily Reporter Yun Junghoon ]SKTelecom(017670)is launching a restoration effort in areas damaged by wildfires using cutting-edge ICT technologies such as AI and drones.

SKT announced on the 30th that it held a seminar in collaboration with Yuhan-Kimberly, the Forest of Peace Foundation, and the nature-tech startup InveLab to share the current status and future plans for forest restoration in the areas affected by the Andong wildfire.

At this seminar, the progress of the “Andong Forest of Peace” project—a collaborative effort among the four companies and organizations—was unveiled. Since last March, SKT and Yuhan-Kimberly, in partnership with the Forest of Peace, have planted 10,000 trees—including mountain cherry, hawthorn, Japanese pagoda tree, Korean maple, and Korean whitebeam—across 4.4 hectares of land damaged by wildfires.

In particular, SKT partnered with Invelab to combine AI and drone technology, significantly expanding the restoration area to include steep slopes that are difficult for people to access directly.

Using AI-based spatial analysis technology to comprehensively assess environmental conditions—including topography, water systems, and solar radiation—the team used drones to concentrate the sowing of 10,000 “seed balls”—a mixture of native plant seeds, soil, and nutrients—on steep slopes and other challenging areas.

In addition, AI and drones were used to monitor changes in vegetation and tree growth in areas damaged by wildfires, while also precisely identifying areas requiring additional planting and mapping the distribution of invasive plant species. Participating companies and institutions plan to continue tracking vegetation changes and refine their forest management systems based on quantitative data.

This project is part of the ESG synergy between SKT and Yuhan-Kimberly. Since signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last September to strengthen ESG practices, the two companies have continued to collaborate in various environmental fields, including reforestation of wildfire-damaged areas, resource recycling, and biodiversity conservation.

Following their joint e-waste recycling campaign and tree-planting activity in the “Honeybee Forest” in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, last September, the two companies also participated in a tree and green space restoration project in the Changgyeonggung Palace area on the 23rd, where they held an event to tend to the palace forest.

Eom Jong-hwan, Head of SKT’s Sustainable Management Division, stated, “We will combine SKT’s AI capabilities with Yuhan-Kimberly’s expertise in the environmental and forestry sectors to pursue the long-term restoration of the Andong wildfire-affected areas,” adding, “We will continue to expand our ESG collaboration so that both companies can generate synergies.”