SK Planet Opens for Business, Targets Growing Enterprise Market Valued at KRW 5 Trillion by 2016
§ SK Telecom’s affiliated platform company, SK Planet, launched on 1 October
§ Targets global growth through platforms offerings in applications, commerce, navigation, new media and retail services
§ Expects sales of KRW 3.5 trillion and the company value of KRW 5 trillion by 2016
Hong Kong, 11 October 2011 – SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) today outlined the company’s vision for SK Planet, SK Telecom’s newly created platform business, announcing that it will focus on business innovation and new business development as it seeks to become a global platform innovator with the company value of KRW 5 trillion by 2016.
“We will be the best platform company in Asia with the company value of KRW 5 trillion in five years by expanding our global business through open cooperation,” said SK Planet CEO Seo Jin-woo.
SK Planet, which was founded on 1 October as a SK Telecom’s affiliated company, aims to create new growth for SK Telecom’s platform business. The new company will focus on business innovation and new business development with platforms like T Store, T Map, new media (Hoppin), commerce (11th Street), and retail networks (IMAGINE) to
accomplish more innovative converged mobile services and differentiated technologies.
By establishing its platform business based on these core areas, SK Planet plans to realize sales of KRW 2.5 trillion in 2014 and sales of KRW 3.5 trillion in 2016 with the company value of KRW 5 trillion.
Since opening in September 2009, T Store has grown into the No. 1 application store in Korea with 9.6 million subscribers and 190,000 items of registered downloadable content. Currently the store attracts 45 million downloads per month with a monthly turnover of KRW 8.57 billion. It also contributes to the expansion of the mobile content market through its efforts to build an eco-system by offering developer support. T Store will also expand into the Japanese market within the year with an Android OS application store and into more global markets next year, following partnerships with China Mobile, Lenovo China, and Gree Japan.
Ultimately, SK Planet plans to allow T Store to be used by smartphone users regardless of mobile carriers and evolve into a global marketplace where Korean developers can sell their content to overseas users, and overseas developers will have a sales channel to Korean mobile users.
From at the end of last year, 140 APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) from about 10 areas including T Map and Melon have been released and currently 19 applications have been launched. Moreover, the ‘Open API’ policies will continue such as quick way-finding, which is a core function of T Map, information of surrounding POI, and opening game center, which makes social network games easier, until the end of this year.
Also, T Map, which is used by 4.2 million people every month, will be provided to subscribers of KT and LGU+ as well as subscribers of SK Telecom this October. Tentatively named T Map K, and T Map U, the services are available to about 11.2 million customers of iPhone and Android phones as of the end of September, and they can be used for free until the end of this year without a monthly fee, which will be announced when the service is formally launched in October.
The New Media business will provide differentiated media experiences to customers by connecting mobile, web, and TV screen with Hoppin service, which reached one million subscribers in eight months after launching the service. Hoppin service will evolve as a personalized cross-media platform in future and there are plans to expand this into the global market, with the first step around Southeast Asia. Hoppin is expected to help drive the globalization of Korean culture.
11th Street, which has 30 percent market share of the Korean open-market, recorded KRW 3 trillion turnover in 2010 three years since launch. It is also ranked No. 1 in customer satisfaction for three consecutive years, and is highly regarded for taking the commerce market to higher level.
With experiences from operating Q-Store, which is the first QR code specialized store in Korea, and IMAGINE, which opened at Gangnam station and Guro station, SK Planet plans to provide differentiated services by connecting offline and online commerce as well as mobile, and will make further efforts to envigorate N-Screen commerce by establishing an NFC eco-system with the government, mobile carriers, and card companies in the future.
SK Planet, which aims to collaborate with developers and venture companies through the Open Innovation Center and T Academy that opened last year, is holding ‘App. Contest targeting vocational high-school students’ in Korea.
SK Planet will also support small-sized startups in 11th Street with the Small and Medium Business Administration in order to help them expand to various eco-systems and develop the IT industry.
As a nationwide open market, SK Planet decided to establish the first local category for beauty/fashion at 11th Street in Korea and support one-person companies. Through this, one-person companies will get an opportunity to sell their goods on the open Internet market and be supported by the Small and Medium Business Administration. Also, 11th Street will encourage product lines, which are original and creative.
By holding ‘App. Contest targeting vocational high-school students’, SK Planet will cultivate great developers among students from 690 high schools all over the country for the first time in Korea. Also, experts from application developers companies like Gameville and Game Dong-A will help students who have new ideas to develop their own applications. A total of 40 will be awarded and be supported by SK Planet Open Innovation Center.
SK Planet CEO Seo Jin-Woo said, “SK Planet will develop strengths of platform business services which have been successful in SK Telecom based on open technologies and market cooperation, and we will do our best to find an opportunity to take a leap forward nationally by leading the open platform era aggressively and competing with overseas market players.”
About SK Planet
SK Planet is a SK Telecom’s affiliated company and started on October 1, 2011 and it is a Korean specialized platform service company. Its main services are application store, mobile navigation, and N-Screen VOD services. Through other five affiliated companies, it provides search portal/mini hompage, digital music, open market, stock portal, and Disney Korea channel.
For more information, please visit www.skplanet.com.
