Major telecoms to overhaul leadership, AI strategy at upcoming shareholder meetings

SK Telecom CEO Jung Jai-hun gives a keynote speech at MWC 2026 in Barcelona, Spain, March 2. Courtesy of SK Telecom

Major telecom operators SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus are preparing for this month’s shareholder meeting season, aiming to use the gatherings to reshape leadership structures and sharpen their artificial intelligence (AI) strategies, as the industry accelerates its shift toward AI-driven infrastructure and digital services.

The shareholder meetings follow a string of cybersecurity incidents across the sector over the past year, prompting telecom companies to increase investments in security, governance and next-generation technologies.

LG Uplus will kick off the meetings on March 24, followed by SK Telecom on March 26 and KT on March 31. The companies are expected to address governance reforms, shareholder return policies and plans to expand their AI businesses, along with routine items such as board appointments and financial statements approval.

SK Telecom is expected to outline one of the most ambitious transitions with its strategy to evolve into an AI-focused company as a way to move beyond the fallout from last year’s massive data breach that forced a suspension of dividends for the last two quarters.

The company has put on the agenda a plan to convert about 1.7 trillion won of capital reserves into retained earnings to fund so‑called reduction dividends, a type of payout that is not treated as dividend income for tax purposes.

Models showcase KT's technology at its booth at MWC 2026 in Barcelona, Spain, March 1. Courtesy of KT

On strategy, the carrier is doubling down on AI infrastructure, committing to build more than 1 gigawatt of hyperscale AI data center capacity nationwide, with ambitions to turn Korea into Asia’s largest hub for AI computing.

It is also strengthening the board with experts in AI, law and global finance, planning to bring in Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology's computing professor Oh Hae-yun, Korea University professor Lee Seong-yeob, who is an expert on data regulation, and former Goldman Sachs Asset Management Korea CEO Lim Tay-seop as outside directors. The company’s CEO Jung Jai-hun is also up for a formal board appointment.

KT is expected to focus on stabilizing its leadership structure while accelerating digital transformation.

The board is expected to confirm the former head of KT’s enterprise business division, Park Yoon-young, as the new CEO for formal appointment after months of governance turbulence and a high-profile hacking incident that triggered subscriber losses and penalties.

The new CEO, who has over 30 years of experience working at the company, will be tasked with stabilizing the organization while accelerating a digital transformation agenda built around AI, hyperscale data centers and 6G networks.

KT’s board will also be reshaped with the addition of industry specialists and technology leaders, reflecting a broader effort to strengthen governance and technical expertise after a period of management uncertainty.

New outside directors under consideration include a former Intel Korea CEO, a network engineering professor and a senior accounting expert.

LG Uplus CEO Hong Bum-shik speaks during MWC 2026 in Barcelona, Spain, March 2. Yonhap

Meanwhile, LG Uplus is expected to lean harder into data center expansion, seeking shareholder approval to amend its articles of association so it can become a full‑scale data center operator. The company plans to widen its business scope beyond data center design, construction and operations to include real estate acquisition, project funding and power‑use approvals for large facilities like its upcoming Paju AI in Gyeonggi Province, which is set for completion next year.

At the same time, it is reemphasizing the mobile virtual network operator and enterprise infrastructure businesses as new growth pillars.

The board restructuring at LG Uplus is expected to be relatively conservative compared with its rivals, focusing on financial oversight and group-level coordination as the company ramps up investment in AI infrastructure.