Russia's MTS CEO to Visit South Korea After 7 Years to Seek 5G Partners

Inessa Galaktionova, CEO of Russia's largest mobile operator MTS, is set to visit South Korea for the first time in seven years, according to industry sources. She is expected to attend Mobile Korea 2026 and 6G Vision Festa 2026, which open on December 8 in Songdo, Incheon.

The last MTS chief executive to visit was Alexey Kornya in 2019, when he met the then KT chairman Hwang Chang-gyu. MTS has 83.4 million mobile subscribers in Russia. Last year it reported consolidated revenue of 807.2 billion rubles (about 1.33 trillion won) and operating profit of 154.6 billion rubles (about 2.54 trillion won). It plans to invest around 300 billion won next year in upgrading wireless networks, including 5G.

Officially a conference trip

On December 11, MTS CTO Viktor Belov will give a talk on physical AI at the Regional Workshop 2026. It is the first time an MTS executive has spoken at a Korean event. Industry observers believe the CEO's presence points to a broader goal: securing 5G partners.

MTS reportedly asked organizers, including the 6G Forum, for booth tours and meetings with major Korean carriers and equipment makers. It also signaled willingness to join the 6G Forum if needed.

Why Korea

MTS used Huawei and Ericsson equipment for its 5G network buildout from 2020. It declared 5G commercial launch in September, but service currently covers only about 20 locations. As it weighs new equipment and replacements for a nationwide rollout, Korean vendors are reportedly high on its list.

Samsung Electronics signed network-related memorandums of understanding with MTS in 2016 and 2017 and has taken part in 5G equipment tenders. KT may also try to restore earlier cooperation channels on AI data centers and network automation.

Regulation is a wild card. Russia has restricted foreign equipment in the 4.8–4.99 GHz band until early 2029 and is gradually raising the required share of domestic base stations. One industry official said Russia is politically uneasy about European firms because of the war and wary of China, so technologically strong Korea could be an alternative.