SK Telecom‘s artificial intelligence ventures are gaining momentum, but they’re not strong enough to counterbalance looming troubles in its core mobile business.
In the first quarter, SKT’s AI data center operations brought in KRW102 billion ($71.8 million), marking an 11.1% year-over-year increase. Meanwhile, its enterprise-focused AI transformation unit posted a 27.2% rise in revenue to KRW45.2 billion. The company’s AI assistant, AI-Dot, reached 9 million users, reflecting growing public interest in its digital offerings.
Despite these promising developments, AI still contributes only a small fraction—just over 3%—of SKT’s total quarterly revenue of KRW4.5 trillion, which remained flat year-on-year. The company’s pay TV and fixed-line services earned KRW478 billion and KRW289 billion, respectively.
The mobile division, which generated KRW2.7 trillion—nearly 60% of overall revenue—faces a critical challenge following a major data breach that exposed SIM card details of all customers. Although mobile user numbers slightly increased to 34.5 million and 5G subscribers rose to 17.2 million, the outlook has darkened.
CEO Ryu Young-sang disclosed that 250,000 customers have already left SKT, and that figure could escalate to 2.5 million. He has resisted canceling early termination fees, warning that waiving them could cost the company KRW7 trillion over three years.
To stem customer losses, SKT is promoting enhanced SIM security and offering new or patched SIM cards. A new “SIM Reset” service updates user credentials without erasing card data, helping users retain services and contacts.
However, the crisis has forced SKT to pause onboarding new customers and number porting. This suspension, if prolonged, could worsen its subscriber decline.
The company’s leadership promises sweeping reforms, but unless public trust is swiftly restored, its next financial results may be even more troubling.