AI seemed to bring a glimmer of hope to SK Telecom, but SK Telecom reported weak revenue for fiscal year 2025. As the South Korean telecom giant continues to recover from the impact of cybersecurity incidents and sluggish performance, it was the AI infrastructure development business that performed well and showed strong growth.
The company’s revenue from AI data centers increased by 34.9% (YoY) to reach KRW 519.9 billion (USD 354 million))This was supported by improved utilization rates at facilities in Gasan and Yangju and the acquisition of a data center in Pangyo.
One of the most ambitious projects is the Ulsan Data Center, a joint project with Amazon Web Services. Construction began in September 2025 and is currently underway, with another Seoul site planned for 2026. Additionally, SK Telecom will advance to Phase 2 of South Korea’s Sovereign AI Foundation Model Project in January 2026, positioning it for further government-led AI projects..
SK Telecom Chief Financial Officer Park Jong-seok said, “This year, SK Telecom will promote innovation in customer value in all areas of the telecommunications business and AI business, and will do our best to improve our financial performance.”
in LinkedIn PostSK Telecom said, “Our AI business continues to accelerate, and in parallel with our entry into Phase 2 of the Sovereign AI Platform Model Project, the revenue of our Artificial Intelligence Data Center (AIDC) has also increased by approximately 35% year-on-year, further strengthening our role in South Korea’s national AI ecosystem.”
However, this growth in AI efforts could not save the overall financial chaos. According to press releaseconsolidated sales decreased by 4.7% year-on-year to 17.1 trillion won (US$12 billion), and operating profit decreased by 41.1% to 1.7 trillion won (US$728 million). Net profit decreased by 73.0% to 375.1 billion won (US$255 million). On a non-consolidated basis, sales were 12.5 trillion won (8.2 million USD) and operating profit was 811.8 billion won (553 million USD).
Subscriber growth showed signs of stabilizing in the second half of the year. As of the end of 2025, SK Telecom had 17.49 million 5G subscribers, an increase of approximately 230,000 from the third quarter. Fixed-line subscribers, including broadband, returned to net growth in the fourth quarter, reversing the decline seen after the cybersecurity incident.
The company plans to expand its use of AI across network operations, marketing, and distribution in 2026. We also plan to expand our data center solutions and submarine cable businesses. Improve efficiency and customer experience while customizing products and benefits using customer lifetime value models.
