KT (030200.KS) will invest a total of 18 trillion won in core areas including artificial intelligence transformation (AX) and networks. The plan aims to lead the AI industry by preemptively preparing key future technologies such as sixth-generation (6G) communications and physical AI. In particular, based on the judgment that the token economy will grow rapidly, KT intends to nurture a "Token Factory" capable of supporting the creation, brokerage, and billing of tokens as a new growth engine.
KT CEO Park Yoon-young held his first press conference since taking office at the Pullman Ambassador Seoul East Pole Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on Thursday, where he announced the company's core strategy for becoming an "AX Platform Company" centered on these plans.
KT will first pour a total of about 12 trillion won over three years into information security and information technology (IT) and networks. It will invest 4 trillion won and 8 trillion won in the information security and IT division and the network division, respectively. Through this, the company will secure leadership in core future network technologies such as 6G, satellites, and data center interconnect (DCI). In particular, based on the satellite control expertise it has accumulated, KT plans to expand its scope to low-orbit satellites and lead the domestic satellite ecosystem. The goal is to directly control and operate multiple geostationary and low-orbit satellites to secure Korea's communications sovereignty and provide an uninterrupted communications network even in disaster or security situations. "6G will be utilized mainly in manufacturing fields such as smart factories and in the satellite field," Park explained.
An investment of 6 trillion won is planned for expanding AI infrastructure. Some 5 trillion won will be invested over five years to build more than 20 additional AI data centers (AIDC) with a total capacity of 1GW (gigawatt). In the metropolitan area, KT plans to expand AIDC starting from regions where permits and power have been secured, while in provincial areas it will build after securing tenant customers. In addition, 1 trillion won will be spent on expanding submarine cables.
KT plans to provide an ultra-low-latency real-time inference environment nationwide, which is essential in the era of physical AI and autonomous driving. The plan is to connect centralized AI data centers that respond to large-scale training and inference demand with edge AI (small data centers) that will be expanded near industrial sites. "We have differentiated strengths in efficient investment based on actual demand and in the capability to optimize data center operating costs," Park stressed. "By deploying edge AI at more than 3,500 telecom facilities distributed nationwide, we will lay the foundation for the domestic physical AI industry to succeed." The strategy is to compete with data center operating expertise, including the first commercialization of liquid cooling technology in Korea.
KT is pursuing the Token Factory as a new business that can bring together its capabilities as an AI infrastructure company and a telecommunications carrier. The Token Factory is infrastructure capable of supporting the creation, brokerage, and billing of tokens, which have emerged as a new economic unit in the era of AI agents. KT intends to combine its 1GW-scale AI data centers distributed nationwide with a token optimization engine and grow it into the company's flagship AX business model. "The goal is to enable customers to utilize tokens most efficiently," Park explained.
Park cited stablecoins as another new growth engine. The strategy is to enter the stablecoin-based digital finance platform market by combining the 16 million customer base of group affiliate K Bank, the payment and settlement capabilities of BC Card, and KT's security infrastructure. "Stablecoins can be used for cross-border payments," Park said. "We plan to go global by targeting Southeast Asian regions such as Thailand and Vietnam as our main targets."
In addition, in the service sector, the company will focus on providing industry-specific business-to-business (B2B) AX execution tools for finance, public services, manufacturing, and healthcare. KT will also broaden its partnerships to leap forward as an AX platform company. While continuing to seek mutually beneficial cooperation with existing partner Microsoft, the company intends to diversify its partnerships to include global AI leaders such as Google and Palantir, as well as promising domestic AI companies such as Upstage, Rebellions, and Saltlux. In the business-to-consumer (B2C) area, the company plans to realize hyper-personalization by handing over control of product services to customers to improve customer satisfaction.
"Taking a solid foundation and certain growth as our two pillars, we will build a structure in which the foundation and growth create a virtuous cycle," Park stressed. "We will build AI infrastructure on a safe foundation."
