Recently-appointed SK Telecom (SKT) CEO Jung Jai-hun (pictured) used his first all-staff meeting to commit to accelerating innovation across the organisation, with a focus on improving operational efficiency and urging employees to break away from business as usual.

Jung explained in a world where market conditions and the business environment are constantly changing, “inertia or sticking to old methods cannot bring about change”.

He said “management will take responsibility for failures”, referring to recent data breaches, allowing employees to “take on new challenges without fear”.

Jung was appointed CEO at end-October and noted the company is changing its core management indicator from EBITDA to return on investment capital, a measure of capital efficiency and value creation which he noted is useful for clarifying mid- to long-term competitiveness and investment priorities.

“This is a will to change the management paradigm to focus on real productivity, which goes beyond quantitative growth and determines how effectively capital has been used.”

He emphasised “we must select and focus on areas where we excel and compete at the pace of global big tech”.

Regarding a leak of SIM data earlier this year, Jung vowed to “rapidly restore customer trust” and focus on fundamental principles including quality, security and safety.

Jung unveiled a major restructure last month, dividing operations into the MNO and AI groups, with up to 30 per cent of top executives reportedly cut.

In September, the company consolidated all AI units into a single entity.