Seoul, Korea, 27 June 2007 - SK Telecom (CEO Shin Bae Kim, www.sktelecom.com) signed an MOU with the National Urban and Rural Research Center of the Vietnamese Ministry of Construction for cooperating in a u-City project and establishing a joint working group. Through this MOU, both parties will cooperate in researching u-City business models, related laws and regulations, investments and city operating projects in order to accelerate a u-City project in Vietnam.  SK Telecom will conduct the project by inviting a variety of u-City experts inside and outside the SK Group. This will include groups such as SK Engineering and Construction and a u-City Association in order to promote in-depth research activities. The company will review the execution of the projects in accordance with research results: A Workshop about the u-City project and the MOU signing ceremony took place in the Horizon Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam. About fifty company officers and high-ranking officials from the Vietnamese Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and Ministry of Transportation, as well as the Vice-minister of Construction participated in the workshop, and discussed and disclosed concepts of a u-City project and new city construction-related policies, in Vietnam.  

“Signing the MOU is a starting point for cooperating in a u-City project between the Vietnamese government and SK Group. SK Telecom will establish a bridgehead for making strong entry to the Vietnamese market through the strengthening of cooperative ties with the Vietnamese government” said Kyu Gwan Lim, SK Telecom’s vice-president and head of the u-City Project Group.

SK Telecom is conducting the u-City project jointly with SK Group affiliated companies such as SK C&C and SK Engineering and Construction. Starting with the u-Happy City development project in Yeonkikun, Chungnam, Korea in July 2006, the company is on its way toward implementing u-City projects in the Incheon Free Economic Zone of Korea, as well as overseas regions such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.