SK Telecom denies plans to dominate broadcasting sector

By Lee Min-hyung

SK Telecom said Sunday it would not extend its leading position in the telecom market into the broadcasting sector, dispelling fierce opposition from its rival carriers.

The move came last week when the Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI) released a report which revealed market shares for each carrier in 2014. However, the carriers expressed mixed reactions in interpreting the statistical data.

The report said SK Telecom accounted for 46.2 percent of the telecom market share by subscribers as of the end of the year, down from 48.1 percent from the previous year.

“The statistical data clearly shows our telecom market share keeps declining, proving that the industry competition is getting more activated,” SK Telecom said in a statement.

But its rivals KT and LG Uplus joined forces, claiming SK Telecom is highly likely to extend its dominance into other areas including the broadcasting industry by continuously launching bundled products ― including telecom and high speed Internet ― through the proposed takeover.

KT and LG Uplus cited other data in the report and issued a joint press release that read, “The report says SK Telecom took up 51.1 percent of the market share in mobile-based bundled product markets in the same year, showing SK Telecom is expanding its dominating position into other areas.” The bundled products include high-speed Internet, internet protocol television (IPTV), cable television, wired and wireless telephones. Mobile carriers here are launching such bundled products as part of their key marketing strategy to increase their market share.

The two carriers urged the relevant government agencies ― the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP), the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) and the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) ― to take into account such concerns while screening documents for the controversial takeover plan.

SK Telecom, however, expressed regret over the rivals’ interpretation by saying, “KT held 35.1 percent market share for its mobile-based bundled product market in the same period, compared to 28.6 percent for its mobile-only market share.” This shows that KT is also taking advantage of the bundled product market, which means the company also seeks to expand its influence into other sectors in a way that SK Telecom does, SK added.

This is not the first time KT and LG Uplus have stepped up their criticism against SK Telecom, since the nation’s top mobile carrier announced its takeover plan in November. Under the proposed plan, SK Broadband, SK Telecom’s IPTV subsidiary, will merge with CJH. Both sides have since remained poles apart, holding a series of press events to announce their positions over the issue.

SK Telecom hopes the government wil grant approval for the deal, as the 90-day legal deadline for the screening process ended earlier this month since the company submitted documents in Dec. 1. The MSIP, which holds the key to final approval, has yet to make a decision, citing the graveness of the issue.