The Ministry of Science and ICT (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon) held the inaugural meeting of the ‘Public-Private Council for Promoting Telecom Network Investment in the AI Era’ in Seoul on August 27, together with the country’s three mobile carriers (SKT, KT, LGU+). It was the first gathering to discuss next-generation network investment along with regulatory and tax reform as a single package, in response to the surging demand for data processing driven by the spread of artificial intelligence services.
 [코리안투데이] Inaugural meeting of the public-private council for promoting telecom network investment in the AI era © 장형임 기자 |
The council is a follow-up to a July meeting between the Science Ministry’s Deputy Prime Minister and the chief executive officers (CEOs) of the three carriers. It brings together the ministry’s Director-General for Information Protection and Network Policy, the heads of the network divisions at the three carriers, and expert institutions including the Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI), the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI). Through working-level consultations, the council plans to draw up and announce a 《Comprehensive Plan for Next-Generation Network Investment and Regulatory Reform》 within the year.
At the meeting, participants shared that carriers’ capital expenditure (CAPEX) has been declining since the intensive early-stage investment following 5G commercialization wound down. Based on each company’s investor relations (IR) materials, the combined facility investment of the three carriers has been on a downward trend, falling from 9.6 trillion won in 2019 to 8.2 trillion won in 2021, 7.6 trillion won in 2023 and 6.02 trillion won in 2025. Participants discussed ways to reinvigorate investment through the advancement of wired and wireless networks and the build-out of next-generation networks, and exchanged views on the direction for adopting next-generation technologies such as AI-based radio access networks (AI-RAN) and 6G. The discussion covered a broad range of areas, including 5G standalone (SA), submarine cables, satellites, AI data centers (AIDC) and optical communications.
Policy support measures to resolve on-the-ground obstacles hindering investment were also addressed. Key tasks presented included ▲promoting telecom service innovation through rational regulation ▲reviewing government budget programs and tax support, including early demonstration projects ▲and the stable and gradual transition of legacy networks such as 3G, premised on user protection. The Science Ministry decided to continue pursuing policies that eliminate institutional uncertainty so that carriers can sustain their investments with confidence.
The meeting also reviewed the status of efforts to commercialize 5G standalone (SA), scheduled for the end of this year. With nationwide service in December as a common goal, the three carriers are expanding their 5G core networks and carrying out device interoperability testing. KT has been offering and expanding commercial service since July 2021, while SKT and LGU+ are conducting nationwide tests. The carriers have moved to develop new services, including a demonstration of network slicing technology that provides staff at crowded World Cup street-cheering venues with a dedicated network separated from the general network. KT is planning dedicated 5G enterprise and institutional networks for the World Cup (June) and a fireworks festival (September); SKT is planning services tailored to specific regions and users; and LGU+ is planning live event broadcasting and physical-AI services such as delivery and patrol.
The government is also stepping in with support. At the carriers’ request, it will consult with device manufacturers and operating system (OS) providers in August to expand the range of usable devices, and it will supplement its network neutrality guidelines with reference to overseas cases such as those in the European Union (EU) so that new-technology-based innovative services—such as priority transmission for emergency-rescue communications during disasters—can spread smoothly. The guidelines will be revised mainly around the criteria for applying priority transmission and specialized services, and a draft amendment will be released in the fourth quarter to gather public opinion. The method for evaluating communication quality will also move away from its current focus on download speed and be upgraded to comprehensively reflect upload speed, transmission latency, network slicing quality and users’ quality of experience (QoE), with pilot measurements to be conducted in December.
The launch of the council means that users could see, sooner rather than later, a communication environment with strong disaster resilience and low latency. Legacy networks such as 3G will be transitioned gradually on the premise of user protection, easing concerns over service disruption, and the overhaul of quality evaluation will bring not only speed but also actual perceived quality under management.
Choi Woo-hyuk, Director-General for Information Protection and Network Policy, said, ‘The foundation of national competitiveness in the AI era is the intelligent wired and wireless networks that underpin it,’ adding, ‘The government and carriers will cooperate to boldly remove the regulatory and tax obstacles that impede network investment, and build a virtuous cycle of investment in next-generation networks.’
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