[비즈한국] SK Telecom is spinning off SK Broadband’s data center (DC) and submarine cable business to establish ‘SK Horizon,’ a company specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) data center infrastructure. The move not only assigns the management of existing and new data center projects to the new entity but also secures a foundation for expansion by attracting over 3 trillion KRW in funding from global investment firms.
Furthermore, on the same day the company’s establishment was made official, it filed trademark applications for the ‘SK Horizon’ brand across the entire spectrum of AI infrastructure, including GPUs, servers, power supply equipment, telecommunications, software, cloud services, and finance, in addition to data center operations. While the actual scope of its business has not been finalized, industry observers suggest that these filings provide a glimpse into the roadmap for the new company.
Two-track AI DC Strategy: Horizon and Hyper Under SKT’s Oversight
SK Broadband announced on the 27th that its board of directors approved a plan to split into a surviving company, SK Broadband, and a new company, SK Horizon, under the 100% parent company, SK Telecom. On the same day, SK Telecom’s board also approved related agendas, including the disposal of treasury shares and the sale of stocks and securities in other corporations. SK Horizon will be responsible for expanding infrastructure to 318MW by 2030, including eight currently operational data centers and new sites in Ulsan and Guro. The submarine cable business will also be transferred to SK Horizon.
Alongside this reorganization, SK Telecom secured a total investment of 3.08 trillion KRW from KKR and an IMM Investment-Stonebridge consortium. Once the phased investment is complete, SK Telecom will hold 51%, KKR 29%, and the IMM consortium 20%. The secured funds are intended for SK Horizon’s additional expansion and infrastructure development.
With this, SK Telecom’s AI DC business has taken on a three-tier structure: SKT (oversight), SK Horizon (infrastructure operations), and SK Hyper (new large-scale project development). SK Telecom manages the group-level AI DC strategy and global big-tech collaborations. SK Horizon handles the operation and expansion of existing MW-class data centers, while SK Hyper is tasked with developing new hyperscale-level data centers requiring large plots of land and power supply. SK Hyper aims to build GW-class data centers with a capacity of 5GW by 2029 and 15GW by 2035.
Trademark Filings Cover Construction, Equipment, Cloud, and Finance Beyond Just Operations
On the same day, SK filed a total of 24 consecutive trademark applications for ‘SK Horizon’ in both Korean and English across six product categories. ‘SK Horizon’ is currently a tentative name, and related procedures are underway with the goal of launching the new legal entity in the first quarter of next year. Once the process is finalized, it is highly likely that the current name will be confirmed as the official legal name.
The designated goods encompass the entire business cycle, from construction and facility stages of data centers to equipment, telecommunications, software, and financing. Class 37 includes data center construction and cooling equipment management; Class 09 covers key AI DC equipment such as Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), power supply units, and servers. Class 38, which deals with data exchange, covers data transmission and telecommunications, while Class 42 includes cloud storage and server management. Combined with Class 36 for financing and capital investment, and Class 35 for data center business management, the company is positioning itself to cover all phases of the business.
Currently, the defined role of SK Horizon focuses on operating and expanding existing data centers and the submarine cable business. However, the trademarked categories include data center construction, equipment, cloud services, and financial management, suggesting a scope wider than what has been publicly announced. That said, a trademark filing alone does not guarantee the actual implementation or entry into all these business areas.
The financial sector is also paying close attention to SK Horizon’s scalability. Choi Yu-jin, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, explained, “This is a time when we can expect not only increased profitability through cost efficiency in the telecommunications service sector but also a significant expansion in profit growth from data centers.” She added, “As the only company in Korea with a full AI stack, backed by the group’s support and stable funding, it is well-positioned to respond to constantly increasing demand.”
The rapid growth of the data center business is also key to understanding the background of this spin-off. SK Telecom reported that its AI data center revenue for the second quarter of this year was 136.2 billion KRW, a 92.5% increase compared to the same period last year. While the business targeted for the spin-off accounted for about 7.7% of SK Broadband’s total revenue on a separate basis last year, the assets assigned to the new entity in the spin-off plan amount to 29.3% of the total. This is due to the transfer of the eight existing operational data centers to the new entity.
The core of this reorganization is to separate a business with high growth potential and significant asset scale relative to revenue into a standalone entity to enhance expertise and foster focused growth.
SK Telecom plans to finalize the split and establishment of SK Horizon in the first quarter of next year, following government approvals and an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting. An SK Telecom official stated, “Trademark applications are often made comprehensively to account for future expansion possibilities,” adding, “For now, our priority is to strengthen and expand the operational capabilities of the 10 AI DCs currently in operation or under construction.”
Kim Sung-soo, CEO of SK Broadband, emphasized, “This governance reorganization is a preemptive measure to secure expertise and rapid execution in our AI DC business. We will continue to scale up SK Horizon as an AI DC infrastructure company and grow it into the top data center operator in Korea.”