KT to go all-out in supporting businesses’ AI transformation

South Korean mobile carrier KT Corp. is set to launch an organization dedicated to assisting businesses in their artificial intelligence (AI) transformation in March 2025, thus fully advancing its AI business-to-business (B2B) operations.

The goal is to diversify its business structure, which currently relies on telecommunications for 95 percent of its revenue.

“Since taking office in 2023, I have focused on structural improvements, which has achieved significant results,” KT Chief Executive Officer Kim Young-shub said.

“Moving forward, we aim to rapidly increase the revenue share of the AI and Communications Technology (AICT) sector to 12 percent.”

Kim’s remarks were made during a press conference at Mobile World Congress 2025 on Tuesday in Barcelona, Spain. He noted that KT will establish the AX Delivery Expert Center with 300 personnel within the month.

The company also plans to commercialize an AI specialized in Korean culture within the first half of 2025 and collaborate extensively with Microsoft Corp. to nurture AX talent

The AX Delivery Expert Center will focus on developing and training specialized personnel for AI transformation.

KT intends to create an AX Transformation Dream Team, comprising 200 KT employees and 100 world-class AI experts from Microsoft.

This team will develop customized AI solutions for corporate clients and efficiently manage projects.

“For KT to benefit, AI must first help businesses innovate and generate revenue,” Kim said. “While telecommunications remains important, we are shifting our focus to the B2B sector and advancing it to a more sophisticated level.”

KT had already implemented AI services across its operations through a strategic partnership with Microsoft in 2024 that yielded tangible results.

Based on this success, the company is now committed to expanding its AX transformation business.

“KT’s core goal is the complete transformation into an AICT company,” Kim said.

As a national telecom operator, KT also aims to develop an AI model tailored for Korea.

KT and Microsoft partnered to co-develop a Korean AI system using OpenAI’s GPT-40 AI model and Microsoft’s small language model Phi in September 2024.

KT’s vision is to integrate Korean philosophy, history, society, culture, and national identity into a safe and reliable AI service.

Addressing concerns that KT may become overly dependent on Microsoft’s technology, Kim said, “If we fall behind in technology, the only option is to learn quickly and catch up. What matters most is ensuring that our industries and consumers can fully use AI.”

KT also plans to accelerate its public cloud business by developing a Secure Public Cloud (SPC) within the first half of 2025. This cloud service will comply with Korean laws and regulations while offering high security, sovereignty, and scalability.

In the meantime, KT will continue restructuring its business portfolio to support its AICT expansion.

The company plans to liquidate non-core assets such as its hotels and real estate holdings, and reinvest the funds into AICT development.

“KT’s core business is not real estate or hotels,” Kim said. “Looking ahead, we must invest in 6th generation mobile networks, spectrum, satellites, infrastructure, and AI. The funds secured through asset sales will be used to strengthen our primary business.”

By Kim Gyu-shik and Lee Eun-joo
[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]