Pedestrians walk past a mobile phone store in Seoul. [Yonhap]
Pedestrians walk past a mobile phone store in Seoul. [Yonhap]

As the generative AI era takes hold, South Korea's three major telecoms are rolling out mobile plans that bundle AI services directly into their offerings. The strategy is to quickly meet growing consumer demand for AI while gaining an edge in the intensifying market-share battle among the three carriers.

Industry sources said Wednesday that the three carriers have been competitively launching AI-integrated plans that combine Google AI with their mobile subscriptions.

A pedestrian walks past a mobile phone store in central Seoul. [Lee Sang-sub]
A pedestrian walks past a mobile phone store in central Seoul. [Lee Sang-sub]

SK Telecom unveiled its "Best Series" AI plans bundled with Google AI Plan — a subscription service that provides access to Google's latest AI features and models, including Gemini and Nano Banana, along with expanded cloud storage.

Launched July 2, the Best Series lineup consists of Best Pro, priced at 119,000 won ($84), and Best Max at 129,000 won. The plans bundle AI and OTT benefits into a single package.

KT Corp also introduced its Choice plan lineup, which includes Google AI Plus (400GB) benefits. The lineup covers four tiers: Choice90 Google AI Plus, Choice110 Google AI Plus, Choice130 Google AI Plus, and Choice Double YouTube Premium+Google AI Plus.

The Choice plans range from 90,000 won to 130,000 won per month. Subscribers can use a range of generative AI features powered by Gemini — including document drafting, information search, translation and learning tools — as well as 400GB of cloud storage. Those on the Choice Double YouTube Premium+Google AI Plus plan can simultaneously access YouTube Premium Lite and Google AI Plus benefits.

LG Uplus launched four plans: Plus Plan 130 at 130,000 won, Plus Plan 115 at 115,000 won, Plus Plan 105 at 105,000 won, and Plus Plan 95 at 95,000 won.

All four plans include Google AI Pro as a standard benefit, giving subscribers access to Gemini and 2TB of storage, along with Nano Banana, Flow and Whisk (a video creation tool), Deep Research (capable of generating professional-level reports), and NotebookLM (a research and learning tool).

A mobile carrier store in central Seoul. [Lim Se-jun]
A mobile carrier store in central Seoul. [Lim Se-jun]

The industry expects all three carriers to accelerate the launch of premium plans as generative AI becomes mainstream — particularly if a government policy requiring carriers to notify subscribers of their optimal plan takes effect in October as scheduled.

According to the Korea Information Society Development Institute, the paid AI service usage rate rose from 14 percent in 2024 to 19.5 percent last year, reflecting growing public demand for generative AI.

The optimal-plan notification policy is also a key factor. Starting in October, the three carriers will be required to periodically inform subscribers of the most suitable plan for their usage. When making such recommendations, carriers must weigh OTT subscriptions, bundle and family discounts, and early termination fees to suggest the plan most advantageous to the customer.

That is why the three carriers are pushing hard to launch premium plans that combine high-demand services — generative AI, OTT and others — with mobile subscriptions.

"As AI service use becomes part of customers' daily lives, we expect a significant increase in related services and products," an industry official said.


ko@heraldcorp.com