SKT buys back Internet portal unit from affiliate

Published : Sept 24, 2015 - 20:19 Updated : Sept 24, 2015 - 20:19

SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top mobile carrier, said Thursday it has decided to buy back an Internet portal unit currently owned by its mobile platform affiliate, after a deal to sell it off to a local entertainment firm fell through.

SK Telecom's board approved a plan to acquire a 64.5 percent stake in SK Communications Co. for some 200 billion won ($168 million) from its wholly-owned affiliate SK Planet Co., the company said.

SK Communications, which runs Internet portal Cyworld and online messenger Nate, was previously owned by the mobile carrier before SK Planet took over the controlling stake in 2007.

SK Communications has been stuck in a prolonged slump as it has failed to respond swiftly to the industrial shift to mobile from web-based business.

Cyworld, an Internet-based community portal, used to be the most popular site among the young generation in South Korea in the early 2000s. (Yonhap)