SK Telecom Launches AI Data Center Units SK Hyper, SK Horizon

SK Hyper, set up in July, has secured land and obtained a building permit for part of its capacity in Ulsan. It is negotiating concrete terms with three or four global operators and is pursuing sites and customers in several other candidate regions. The goal is to sign customers for initial capacity by the first half of 2027 and begin phased AIDC operations from the second half of 2029. SK Hyper is responsible for gigawatt-class projects.

SK Horizon is due to be established in the first quarter of 2027. It will focus on data centers in the Seoul metropolitan area, a 100MW-class AIDC in Ulsan and expanding the submarine cable business. Because commercial contracts and financing are largely in place, SK Telecom will keep a 51% stake.

Financing and other businesses

Park said the company's position of funding a large share of gigawatt-class AIDC investment through financial investors is unchanged, but that external money still carries a burden. SK Telecom will review investment size, timing and funding structure to protect financial health. On a possible sale of its Anthropic stake, it said it would decide in the way that best raises shareholder value.

The company also outlined a token gateway business built on its 23 million subscribers, payment system and multi-model AI platform. Park expects opportunities first in sovereign areas such as the public sector and defense.

In mobile, flagship launches such as Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold lifted Q3 revenue and ARPU. 5G SA is due for commercialization in December, while 6G commercialization is expected after 2030. On SpaceX's US spectrum acquisition, SK Telecom said the impact on Korea is limited but it will watch technology and regulatory changes.