KT set to transform media biz through AI

SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s telecommunications giant KT Corp. said Monday it will lead the transformation of the company’s media business by widely using its artificial intelligence capabilities and strengthening investments to spread Korean pop content in global markets.

KT, the country’s No. 2 wireless carrier, said it is utilizing AI technology in the entire process of content creation and TV viewing across its media and content units, including the production studio KT Studio Genie, online reading platform Milly’s Library, cable channel ENA and music streamer Genie Music.

The company’s AI model, which predicts the popularity and success of TV shows, facilitates informed investment decisions in original content production.

KT also employs AI technology to enhance the quality of older videos with a single click and automatically design movie posters tailored to the screen size of TVs.

As the leading IPTV service provider, KT offers personalized features through its Magic Platform, an AI-based content analyzing media solution. In the latter half of the year, it plans to introduce the “AI Picker” service, enabling users to select specific people, songs or scenes in TV shows and movies with AI assistance.

KT’s media business posted 640 billion won (US$463 million) in content sales in 2023, with 13 million IPTV subscribers.

Moreover, KT Studio Genie will lead the company’s plan to introduce its original content to the global market through remakes.

The black comedy “The Kidnapping Day” (2023) will be remade in Germany, while a webtoon edition of its crime show “Evilive” (2023) will be published in Japan.

For 2024, KT Studio Genie, which is behind the smash-hit legal drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” (2022), will release 14 original series, including the crime comedy “Crash.”

“The media business is one of KT’s three core businesses, along with telecommunications and AI, and is a pivotal business that will drive the future of KT Group,” said Kim Hoon-bae, head of KT’s business unit. “KT will continue leading the market by integrating AI technology into the media value chain based on our business capabilities.”