SKT, Declares 'AI Trust' Amid 134.7 Billion Won Fine… Publishes First Governance Report

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Following a major USIM information leakage incident that eroded trust in its security, SK Telecom has established an integrated management system to maximize the safety of artificial intelligence (AI). On the 26th, SKT announced that it has published its first "AI Governance Report," which comprehensively outlines the company's AI governance principles, accountability framework, execution plans, and key achievements, marking the beginning of a full-scale push toward "AI Trust Management."

The core of this report is a robust integrated management system centered on personal information protection. SKT was previously subject to a substantial fine of 134.791 billion won by the Personal Information Protection Commission in connection with the USIM information leakage incident that occurred last August. As part of its renewal efforts, SKT implemented an organizational restructuring starting last December, under which the Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) now oversees AI governance as well.

Under the new management system, SKT prioritizes customer data utilization and privacy protection as the top criteria in reviewing AI services. In particular, the company has swiftly adopted the "Privacy by Design" principle—incorporating personal information protection into design from the service planning stage—across all corporate business processes. This enables proactive identification and control of risk factors that may arise throughout the entire lifecycle of AI services.

Specific management guidelines for "AI agents (autonomous task-executing artificial intelligence)," which have recently drawn attention, are also included in this report. AI agents used internally are subject to strict management standards at each stage—development, testing, operation, and termination—just like general AI services. This is the result of significantly elevating the company-wide governance level in line with the AI Basic Act, which took effect on January 22 this year.

SKT has also achieved results by objectively verifying its AI trust management capabilities through external institutional investors. After becoming the first domestic telecommunications company to obtain the international standard "ISO/IEC 42001" certification for customer-facing AI services in 2024, SKT completed additional certification for its internal AI agent management system this October, further enhancing its credibility both domestically and internationally.

Large-scale capital investment in security and AI safety is also continuing. According to the information protection disclosure by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) in August this year, SKT's information protection investment last year was 111.1 billion won, a sharp increase of 70.3% compared to the previous year. Going beyond that, SKT presented a long-term roadmap to invest a total of 700 billion won in the fields of information protection and AI safety over the next five years.

Cha Ho-beom, SKT's CPO, emphasized, "As the era of AI agents fully unfolds, the importance of AI governance is greater than ever." He added, "We will proactively respond to the rapidly changing AI environment and continuously strengthen AI trust management so that customers can use our services with peace of mind."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original