South Korea's three mobile carriers are activating special response systems to keep networks stable during the Chuseok holiday, and will pay suppliers ahead of schedule as part of efforts to support their partners.
SK Telecom (017670) will run a special network response program for five days from Sept. 23, the day before the holiday begins, through Sept. 27, linking regional control centers to a central command room, industry sources said on the 18th. The company will operate a parallel monitoring system during the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which run for 16 days from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4. Over the holiday, SK Telecom will deploy 3,625 staff in total from affiliates including SK Broadband, SK O&S and Home&Service, along with operations and maintenance partners, to monitor the nationwide network around the clock.
Peak hourly data usage on Sept. 25, the day of Chuseok, is projected to rise 10.3% from normal levels. SK Telecom will use A-One, its in-house artificial intelligence system for wireless network operations, to analyze traffic and equipment status across the national network in real time and detect early signs of quality degradation. Spider, an AI-based integrated control system for the core network, monitors anomalies continuously and supports rapid response.
KT (030200) is also implementing special network measures for the holiday. The company has inspected service quality at transport hubs including major expressways, KTX and SRT rail stations, airports and bus terminals, and has completed work to optimize base station capacity. It is further strengthening security monitoring to block the spread of smishing texts posing as holiday gifts and to guard against cyberattacks. KT has also checked the mounting of outdoor base station antennas and brackets, as well as fastenings on telecom buildings, utility poles, steel towers, supports and guy wires, to minimize the risk of damage from strong winds and heavy rain.
LG Uplus (032640) has drawn up special network measures using AION, its AI-based autonomous network operations platform. The company has completed advance inspections, quality measurement and optimization of 5G and LTE base stations at expressways, rest areas, KTX and SRT stations, bus terminals and airports nationwide. It has also expanded cache server capacity in preparation for increased use of its U+tv service and streaming platforms, completing preparations for higher traffic over the holiday.
The carriers are also drawing attention for measures to support their business partners ahead of Chuseok. SK Telecom, together with SK Broadband, will make early payments of 131.8 billion won ($95 million) to about 200 partner companies handling network construction, maintenance and service work, as well as some 250 distribution outlets. KT, along with major group affiliates, will pay a combined 160.7 billion won ($116 million) in supplier payments early. LG Uplus will also make early payments of about 25 billion won ($18 million) to small and mid-sized partners to help ease their cash flow ahead of the holiday.
