KT chairman and CEO Hwang Chang-gyu said Monday that the company would be seeking consolidation this year after having launched a slew of new businesses in recent years.

“The results of our new growth-engine businesses will start to come out from this year,” he told reporters after attending a ceremony celebrating the opening of the company’s new headquarters building in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul.

Hwang, who took office as chief executive of the nation’s No. 2 telecom carrier in January last year, has pledged to pour more resources into five future-oriented services ― transport, energy, health care, integrated security and next-generation media.

Among other things, he stressed, the company’s smart energy management business would see tangible results this year with a global megaproject pending.

Regarding the fifth-generation mobile network service, one of the hottest issues within the industry, he reaffirmed the company’s willingness to lead the way in commercializing it in Korea ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

“Consuming disputes among rival companies do no good to national interests,” he said, referring to the ongoing leadership quarrel with SK Telecom, the market leader, about the “world’s first” tri-band LTE-A service.

“We will focus more on R&D and service quality to expand our presence in global markets.”

Hwang is also scheduled to deliver a keynote speech, titled “5G and Beyond,” during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in early March.

KT on Monday opened a new headquarters building, called the East, near the existing West building that has been in operation since 1999. The new 25-story building was designed by the renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)