KT to Concentrate ICT Capabilities on Korean New Deal Project

KT announced on July 6 that it will set up the "Korean New Deal Cooperation Task Force" for a rapid implementation of the Korean New Deal project promoted by the government. It plans to mobilize its core ICT capabilities to prepare cooperation measures.

Park Yoon-young, president of KT's corporate division, will head the task force. More than 200 executives and employees from various fields including B2B, artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, cloud computing, networks, new business and R&D, will prepare for the project. The number of participants will gradually increase as the project progresses.

The Korean New Deal project is designed to overcome a recession sparked off by the COVID-19 crisis and speed up the digitalization of domestic industries to create new jobs. It will consist of two parts — Digital New Deal and Green New Deal. The Digital New Deal project will focus on building digital infrastructure, fostering untact industries and digitalizing social overhead capital.

KT is joining the government in digital infrastructure building by expanding network investment for increased national 5G coverage, commercialization of stand-alone 5G services and the 28Ghz frequency band, and enhanced in-building coverage.

KT will also assist the government in fostering non-face-to-face industries. The carrier is working with various companies and organizations to apply untact technologies. It has agreed with the Asan Medical Center in Seoul to jointly develop an untact medical environment using non-face-to-face video solutions, internet of things (IoT) devices, and robots. With Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, it agreed to jointly develop intelligent service robots through a 50 billion won equity investment in Hyundai Robotics.

KT has developed innovative technologies for infrastructure management based on AI and big data technologies, which can support the government’s plan to digitalize social overhead capital.

KT currently operates and manages 230 telecommunication tunnels (286 km long), 4.69 million utility poles, and 790,000 manholes. A digital technology-based disaster response is essential for the stable operation of communication equipment such as base stations and servers. Accordingly, KT has secured efficiency and stability in the design, operation, control, and recovery of telecommunication infrastructure by developing a next-generation open simulation platform (OSP) management system, which is capable of detecting fires and floods using 5G and AI.

Meanwhile, KT has made continued efforts to rev up the economy. It has expanded investment in building 5G and Giga Internet networks and provided support for the online opening of elementary, middle and high schools. It is also contributing to the cultivation of AI and big data talent through its education programs such as AI OneTeam and 4th Industrial Revolution Academy. It also operates a senior consultant system to reemploy retiring workers.

In addition, it has contributed to the success of K-quarantine and its global expansion through a real-time analysis of infected people’s lines of moves, monitoring of self-isolated people based on safety bands, the emergency transmission of disaster warning texts, and joint research with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.