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| Choi Ki-young, second from right, minister of Science and ICT, poses with SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho, right, KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu, second from left, and LG Uplus CEO Ha Hyun-hwoi during a meeting at Yeouido Park Centre, Seoul, Friday. Courtesy of Ministry of Science and ICT |
By Baek Byung-yeul
ICT Minister Choi Ki-young called on the CEOs of the three mobile carriers ― SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus ― to expand their investment in infrastructure for fifth-generation (5G) networks to make the country a powerhouse in the super-fast network business, according to the ministry, Friday.
"The three telecommunications companies invested 8.2 trillion won in 5G infrastructure in 2019. I am asking the three to actively invest in the sector next year," Choi said during a meeting with the CEOs.
This was the first meeting between Choi and SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho, KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu and LG Uplus Vice Chairman and CEO Ha Hyun-hwoi since he was appointed ICT minister in September.
Korea became the world's first country to commercialize the 5G network service, which is up to 20 times faster than 4G, with low latency.
To encourage them to invest more, Choi pledged the government will fully support the telecommunications firms.
"To support the companies' investment in 5G, the government and the National Assembly will offer the best support such as providing tax breaks," he said.
To get more people to use the super-fast network, Choi urged the CEOs to lower price plans for 5G, but SK Telecom'a Park said it was too early to talk about lowering prices.
"As it costs a lot to set up network infrastructure, it is a bit early to talk about lowering prices," Park told reporters after the meeting.
When asked when an appropriate time for that would be, Park said, "Maybe after we have over 10 million 5G subscribers. We will talk about that when 5G becomes more universal," he said.
As of mid-November, about 4.2 million people have subscribed to 5G services ― SK Telecom has 1.9 million of these.
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