Each SK Telecom ADR represents five-ninths of one common share, an unusual denominator left over from the 2021 corporate action that separated SK Square.
SK Telecom presents AI data centres as its growth engine, but capital spending fell from 2.97tn won in 2023 to an 810bn won first half in 2026.
SK Telecom lost 41,000 mobile subscribers on a net basis in Q2 2026, against 879,000 in the same quarter of 2025 when its data breach was disclosed.
South Korea's consumer price inflation rose to 3.1% in August, exceeding the 3% level for the first time in two months.
SK Telecom (017670) will transfer 1,061 of its own common shares, worth ₩105.7m, to its five independent directors as part of their remuneration, the company said in a filing on Thursday.
| Period | 017670 | KOSPI | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 week | -6.2% | -1.5% | -4.7% |
| 1 month | +1.2% | +5.2% | -4.0% |
| 3 months | -15.1% | -22.6% | +7.5% |
| 6 months | +31.6% | +31.3% | +0.3% |
| Year to date | +72.9% | +58.7% | +14.2% |
| 1 year | +69.1% | +108.9% | -39.8% |
Closed at 55% of the way from its 52-week low (₩52,100) to its 52-week high (₩125,200).
| Grade | Now | 3M | 6M |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation 1.39x parent equity of 15.44tn won; ~13.7x annualised H1 net income of 782bn; 3.33% gross yield vs KT's 4.5% | C | — | — |
| Profitability H1 operating margin 12.6%, up from 10.3%; H1 operating profit of 1.10tn won already exceeds all of FY2025 | B | — | — |
| Financial Health Total liabilities down to 16.94tn won; gross borrowings 8.77tn against 2.00tn cash and deposits; H1 free cash flow 1.46tn | B+ | — | — |
| Growth H1 revenue -0.5% and FY2025 -4.7%; profit growth is against the breach quarter; subscribers still net negative at -41,000 | C | — | — |
| Capital Return 830 won a quarter held twice; policy of returning over 50% of consolidated net income; 1.7tn won capital reserve reduction approved | B | — | — |
SK Telecom will transfer 1,061 of its own common shares to five independent directors between August 28 and September 30, worth ₩105.7m at the ₩99,600 close on August 26. The shares move out of the company's treasury account into the directors' personal accounts, and the filing records it as an off-exchange disposal. The company describes it as a corporate-value-linked remuneration programme for independent directors: part of their pay is settled in treasury stock of equivalent value, with the number of shares each receives varying by role. Dilution is 0.0005% of the 214,790,053 shares outstanding. SK Telecom held 1,732,142 treasury shares before this, about 0.8% of the company, down from 1,807,778 at the start of the year. Shareholders approved the underlying treasury retention and disposal plan at the March 26 annual meeting.
SK Telecom declared 830 won a share for the second quarter — the same rate as the first — with a record date of 31 August and payment on 17 September. The 176.8bn won total is based on 213,057,911 dividend-eligible shares against 214,790,053 issued, the gap being treasury stock, and the filing notes the total may change with the share count at the record date. The 0.9% in the filing is the Korean convention: that quarter alone, measured against the average close over the week before the board met. Annualised, 830 won a quarter is about 3.33% against the 99,600 won close — lower than KT's 4.5%, because SK Telecom's shares have nearly doubled off their 52-week low. For a US holder of the ADR, each ADR represents five-ninths of a common share, so the payment is roughly 461 won per ADR, and Korean withholding at the 15% treaty rate takes the net yield to about 2.83%. SK Telecom's 2026 annual meeting approved a 1.7tn won capital reserve reduction that Korean reporting says could make dividends tax-free at source from 2027.
SK Telecom is Korea's largest mobile carrier by subscribers and has been since the industry began. Its core business is wireless service; through SK Broadband it also runs fixed-line broadband and IPTV, and it has spent the past several years building data centre, cloud and AI businesses that management presents as the next growth engine. For a US investor the closest analogue is Verizon: a mature, cash-generative network operator in a saturated three-player market, held mainly for the dividend. Two differences matter. SK Telecom pays quarterly and has historically run one of the highest payout ratios in the Korean market. And it sits inside the SK Group chaebol, with SK Inc. as controlling shareholder, so capital allocation is influenced by group-level considerations in a way no US carrier's is. The company was founded in 1984 as Korea Mobile Telecommunications, a state entity, and was acquired by the SK Group in 1994. It suffered a large subscriber data breach disclosed in 2025 that drew Korea's biggest-ever privacy fine, the consequences of which are still working through its subscriber base and its accounts. It trades in New York as an ADR under the ticker SKM.
| Sector | Telecommunications | Employees | |
| Market | KOSPI | Founded | 1984 |
| Korean name | SK텔레콤 | Head office | Seoul, South Korea |
| Symbol | Last Price |
|---|---|
| 030200KT Corporation | ₩54,300 +0.9% |
| 032640LG Uplus | ₩14,760 -0.3% |