Carrier to invest 3 trillion won to boost service quality, global presence


KT Corp. said Thursday it plans to record 20.5 trillion won ($18 billion) in sales and spend 3 trillion won in investments this year to boost its service quality and step up its presence in global markets.

KT, the exclusively provider of Apple’s iPhone in Korea, also said that it aims to reach 30 trillion won in sales by 2015.

The country’s top fixed-line service operator expects last year’s revenue to have exceeded 20 trillion won.

In a press conference held in downtown Seoul, the company’s chairman Lee Suk-chae said that it will cooperate closely with two partners in China and Japan ― China Mobile and NTT DoCoMo ― to “create a smart belt in Northeast Asia.”

They will offer joint services to increase convenience and services for their subscribers and boost the competitiveness of all three parties.

“The agreement signed by the firms of three different countries provides great meaning,” said Lee, who entered his third year in office. “When comparing size, KT is far behind ... but the level of competitiveness (the cooperation) could bring varies.”

Earlier Wednesday, the three parties signed an agreement to collaborate in sectors of mobile software and mobile technology, such as looking for ways to lower roaming fees and the opening of the mobile content market.

The details are yet to come, however, this is deemed to become an opportunity for young people interested in mobile content development, according to Lee.

In a related effort, KT is planning to jump into overseas markets in regions such as Latin America and Africa, and work toward global mergers and acquisitions to make its position concrete as a global player.

“We will enter the market together with internationally leading companies,” said KT’s vice president Kim Il-yeong.

He also added that KT is in talks with four European companies to sell its cloud computing system and solutions.

“One of the negotiations is moving quickly forward,” Kim said. “However, it hasn’t been decided yet whether it will come in the form of a joint venture or just KT providing the service to the foreign firm.”

Regarding methods to improve calling quality, Pyo Hyun-myung, president of the mobile business group at KT, said the firm is preparing to implement a cloud communication center in March which would allow securing 50 percent more wireless networks.

It will also nurture 600 people who are labeled as smartphone supporters and tackle the inconveniences of its customers.

KT has said it targets 6.5 million subscriptions in smartphones and sales of over 1 million tablet computers by yearend.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)