Bo-eun leads the digital content team. She has covered foreign affairs, North Korea, tech, economy and gender issues at The Korea Times. She did a short stint at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she obtained a new perspective on news production and life. Small sources of joy for her are lounging in the sun, having a good latte and swimming.
SKT to split into two separate businesses
SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho speaks at the company's general shareholders' meeting last month. Courtesy of SK Telecom
By Kim Bo-eun
By Kim Bo-eun
SK Telecom (SKT) said Wednesday that it will split up into two parts through an equity spinoff, with one responsible for the traditional telecommunications business and the other to take control of semiconductor and e-commerce operations.
The telecom firm will try to explore the best possible chances for developing businesses in artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure, while the new unit will mostly be assigned to invest in memory semiconductors. SKT said that the new affiliate's name is yet to be decided.
The company said that splitting up SK Telecom and the new investment unit is necessary to enable separate management for both telecom and new businesses. New businesses in media, security and commerce accounted for 24 percent of SKT's operating profit for 2020. The country's top mobile carrier is seeking to list its affiliates in these businesses, including the local app market operator, One Store.
The world's second-largest DRAM maker, SK hynix, is SKT's core affiliate. SK hynix accounts for around a 29-percent share of the global market. SK is set to take a more aggressive stance in chip-related investments with the new firm.
“SK's investment firm, which has become an intermediary holding company, won't be absorbed into SK Inc.,” said SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho. The markets were weighing in on the possible integration of SK's investment firm into SK Inc. because of SK Chairman Chey Tae-won's increased grip on the group's affiliates.