SK Broadband’s 318 MW spin-off enters Korean public review

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT will accept public comments from Sept. 10 through Sept. 30 on SK Telecom’s plan to spin off SK Broadband’s data-center and submarine-cable businesses into SK Horizon, which would be assigned 318 megawatts of data-center infrastructure.

MSIT announced the consultation on Sept. 9. SK Telecom, listed under ticker 017670.KS, applied for government approval of the corporate split on Sept. 1. The planned separation covers data centers and submarine cables and forms part of SK Telecom’s broader restructuring of its artificial-intelligence data-center business.

What does SK Telecom plan to separate?

SK Telecom announced that SK Horizon would take charge of operating and expanding the data-center and submarine-cable businesses moved into the new company. SK Broadband would remain as the surviving entity after the split.

The surviving company will handle fixed-line, media and enterprise operations. SK Horizon will oversee the infrastructure operations transferred from SK Broadband. The allocation separates SK Broadband’s continuing business lines from the facilities assigned to the new entity.

Takeaway: The proposal places digital infrastructure under SK Horizon while SK Broadband retains fixed-line, media and enterprise operations.

How large is SK Horizon’s infrastructure mandate?

SK Horizon will operate and expand infrastructure totaling 318 megawatts. The total includes eight data centers currently run by SK Broadband and AI data centers under construction in Ulsan and Guro.

The 318-megawatt figure covers both facilities already operated by SK Broadband and capacity still under development. SK Horizon therefore assumes responsibility for running the current portfolio and adding AI data-center capacity in Ulsan and Guro. The move sits within SK Telecom’s broader AI data-center restructuring.

MSIT has made operating capacity part of the consultation. Its request for comments explicitly names the adequacy of business operating capability, placing the operating requirements of the separated infrastructure among the issues open for assessment.

Takeaway: SK Horizon’s portfolio combines eight operating data centers with AI data centers under construction in Ulsan and Guro.

What issues are open for public comment?

MSIT said: “Comments may be submitted on matters such as the adequacy of business operating capability, the impact on competition in the telecommunications business, user protection and the effect on the public interest.”

The ministry organized the submission window around four named subjects:

• Adequacy of business operating capability.
• Impact on competition in the telecommunications business.
• User protection.
• Effect on the public interest.

The list makes the consultation operational as well as structural: comments can address the split’s operating capacity, effects on telecommunications competition, user protection and public-interest consequences.

Takeaway: The consultation covers operating capacity, telecommunications competition, user protection and public-interest effects.

What happens after Sept. 30?

MSIT said: “We will review and reflect the comments received through this process and proceed with the split review without disruption.” The statement makes the next step explicit: submissions will feed into MSIT’s review of the application SK Telecom submitted on Sept. 1.

The consultation closes Sept. 30, but MSIT announced no final decision date. The statement did not promise approval or rejection. It instead confirms that MSIT will continue the corporate-split review after considering the public submissions and the issues raised during the consultation window.

Takeaway: Public comments feed into a continuing government review; MSIT announced no final approval date.