LG Uplus vows to go all in on platform businesses

LG Uplus, South Korea’s third-largest telecom operator by market share, has pledged to increase the sales proportion of non-telecommunication services to 40 percent of the total by 2027 with a focus on developing platform businesses.

“Now moving beyond the area of traditional telecom businesses, we are looking to open up the era of ‘U+3.0’ that creates data- and technology-based platforms and services centered around customers to discover future growth engines,” said Hwang Hyeon-sik, president of LG Uplus, in a press conference on Thursday.

Stressing the importance of innovating customer experiences through understanding customers by securing their data, Hwang introduced the company’s strategy for advancing four platform businesses in lifestyle, entertainment, child care and future technologies.

According to LG Uplus, the company will continue to speed up the digital transformation in the existing telecommunication services through the implementation of flexible monthly plans for mobile users and the embedded subscriber identity module, known as eSIM, which allows people to have two different numbers in one mobile device.

LG Uplus pointed to its recently-launched subscription service Udok as a frontrunner in expanding its platform businesses. The company said Udok offers more convenient access, cheaper bundle deals and a simpler cancellation process for customers to select subscription services easily and with more freedom.

The company said it will use the data collected from Udok to offer new businesses in health care, pet and travel, adding the goal is to secure a lifestyle platform that has 7 million users in the next five years.

Regarding the entertainment platform, LG Uplus said it will aim to offer more content through its over-the-top services with more television programs featuring K-pop idols and sports that have solid fan bases.

LG Uplus said it will also provide more various services in child care with new interactive education content. The company added that it will set up a commerce platform that recommends teachers and teaching tools to parents.

“In order to create a touchpoint that can communicate with parent and child customers, we will prepare a subscription-based platform that can become ‘Kids’ Netflix,’” said Hwang.

For the transition into web 3.0 -- the next era of the Internet -- LG Uplus said it will expand investment in research and development of metaverse and non-fungible tokens as well as startups to secure core future technologies.

With the bolstering of platform businesses, LG Uplus laid out the goal of bringing up the company’s market capitalization to 12 trillion won ($8.6 billion) in 2027. The company’s market capitalization stood at 4.9 trillion won as of 2 p.m. Thursday.