KT injects $9.5bn into digital initiatives

KT Corp has revealed plans to invest KRW12tn ($9.5bn) in AI, cloud computing and content programmes as part of plans to move away from its core telecoms business.

The non-infrastructure investments will see the South Korean telco boost its workforce by 20% between 2022 and 2026, according to a report by Mobile World Live.

The operator – formerly Korea Telecom – will invest KRW2.6tn ($2bn) to strengthen its content offering, and assign KRW1.5tn ($1.1bn) to AI and big data initiatives. KT added, KRW3tn ($2.2bn) will be invested in “promising” start-ups.

According to KT, the spending is part of a combined KRW27tn ($21bn) five-year investment, also covering network and data centre upgrades. KT will spend a further KRW1.7tn ($1.3bn) on cloud and data centre infrastructure.

Separate to the investment budget, an additional KRW6tn (4.6bn) will be reserved to secure high-quality content from third parties.