Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
KT becomes top telecom by market capitalization since 2003
KT has overtaken SK Telecom to become the leading telecommunications company by market capitalization, claiming the No. 1 spot for the first time since 2003.
By Nam Hyun-woo
On Friday, KT's market capitalization reached 11.845 trillion won ($8.27 billion), surpassing SK Telecom's market cap of 11.7705 trillion won by approximately 700 billion won.
KT's stock price rose 2.96 percent, or 1,350 won, to 47,000 won compared to the previous day.
The recent surge in KT's stock price is attributed to its partnership with Microsoft and its proactive shareholder return policies.
Major securities firms have raised their target prices for KT, with Mirae Asset Securities setting its target at 60,000 won, Meritz Securities at 56,000 won and Nomura Securities at 53,000 won.
"We will grow as an 'AICT' company, enhance our corporate value and strengthen shareholder returns,” a KT spokesperson said. AICT is the company's portmanteau for the abbreviations of artificial intelligenge and information and communications technology.