SK Telecom Q2 profit plunges 76% on cyber costs.

Seoul, South Korea - SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM) posted a 76.2% decline in second-quarter net income to KRW 83.2 billion, as the South Korean telecommunications company recorded costs related to a cybersecurity incident.

Operating income fell 37.1% year-over-year to KRW 338.3 billion for the quarter ended June 30, while consolidated revenue decreased 1.9% to KRW 4.3388 trillion, the company said.

SK Telecom attributed the declines to expenses, including customer SIM card replacements and retail store loss compensation related to the cybersecurity incident.

The company's AI data center business generated revenue of KRW 108.7 billion, representing a 13.3% increase from the prior year period. AI transformation business revenue rose 15.3% to KRW 46.8 billion.

SK Telecom announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services and SK Group affiliates to construct a data center in Ulsan.

Operations are scheduled to begin in 2027. The company stated the facility will increase total data center capacity to over 300 megawatts.

The company projects that its annual AI data center business revenue will exceed KRW 1 trillion by 2030.

SK Telecom launched an "Accountability and Commitment Program," involving KRW 700 billion in information protection investments over five years.

The company completed enrollment of customers in SIM card protection services and began offering free SIM card replacements.

A customer package valued at KRW 500 billion includes a 50% discount on August 2025 monthly bills and an additional 50 gigabytes of monthly data through December 2025.

The company upgraded its Fraud Detection System and will provide ZIMPERIUM mobile device security solutions at no charge for one year.

SK Telecom plans to implement Zero Trust security architecture as part of its information protection system.

On a non-consolidated basis, the company reported revenue of KRW 3,135.1 billion, operating income of KRW 250.9 billion, and net income of KRW 36.9 billion.

Chief Financial Officer Kim Yang-seob stated that the company is investigating the cybersecurity incident and is committed to rebuilding the business.