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KT plans to roll out the model first within its consumer services, before expanding to enterprise clients following stability checks
In sum – what to know:
Korea-tailored AI model – KT introduced SOTA K, built on GPT-4o with Microsoft, designed to reflect Korean language, grammar, and cultural context.
Outperforms global models in benchmarks – SOTA K exceeded GPT-4o in Korean-specific comprehension, reasoning, and specialized domains such as law and history.
Enterprise testing underway – Early pilots with insurers, broadcasters, hospitals, and utilities pave the way for consumer and partner deployments.
Korean carrier KT Corp. has unveiled SOTA K, an artificial intelligence system based on GPT-4o and developed in partnership with Microsoft, Korean press reported. The report noted that the AI model is designed specifically for Korean language and culture.
According to KT, SOTA K was trained on curated domestic datasets and tailored to reflect Korean society. The company described the system as grounded in four guiding principles: data sovereignty, cultural understanding, user choice, and responsible deployment.
KT also said the model demonstrates strong performance in handling nuanced honorific speech and specialized domains such as law, finance, and history. Internal benchmarks showed SOTA K outperforming GPT-4o in comprehension, reasoning, cultural awareness, and technical knowledge, with notable results in civil service and naturalization exam simulations, the report added.
Pilot testing has already taken place with several partners, including Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance, the public broadcaster EBS, Yonsei Medical Center, and Korea Electric Power Corp. KT plans to roll out the model first within its consumer services, before expanding to enterprise clients following stability checks.
“SOTA K combines global AI capabilities with deep Korean contextualization,” said Yoon Kyung-ah, head of KT’s Agentic AI Lab. “Our collaboration with Microsoft will also serve as a basis for future AI development.”
In July, rival carrier SK Telecom (SKT) had released 3.1 Lite, a compact large language model (LLM) designed for mobile applications.
The new model, featuring 7 billion parameters, builds on the AX 3.0 Lite previously used in SKT’s A-dot AI call assistant and is part of the telco’s ongoing efforts to optimize LLMs for smartphones.
SK Telecom had said AX 3.1 Lite offers Korean language capabilities on par with its larger sibling, AX 4.0 Lite, which has 72 billion parameters. The lightweight version achieved strong benchmark scores — 96% on the Korean language KMMLU2 test and 102% on CLIcK3, which measures cultural understanding, according to the report.
The company emphasized that AX 3.1 Lite was developed from scratch in-house, a continuation of a strategy that began in 2018.
The Korean carrier said the model will enable companies to deploy more efficient, power-conscious AI systems directly on mobile devices, especially where localised language processing is critical.
Through its “AI Infrastructure Superhighway” and “AI Pyramid Strategy” initiatives, the Asian telco is investing heavily in AI data centers, cloud-based GPU services and edge computing to support the growing demands of AI applications and services.
At the core of SK Telecom’s AI ambitions is the development of an “AI Infrastructure Superhighway,” a strategic initiative focused on three main components:
-AI Data Centers (AIDCs): The carrier is constructing hyperscale AI data centers across South Korea, each designed to exceed 100 megawatts in capacity. These facilities aim to serve as central hubs for AI processing and storage, supporting both domestic and international AI workloads.
-GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS): To democratize access to high-performance computing, the company has launched a cloud-based GPU service. This platform allows businesses and developers to utilize powerful GPU resources on-demand, facilitating AI model training and deployment without the need for significant upfront hardware investments.
-Edge AI: Recognizing the importance of low-latency processing, the Asian telco is expanding its edge computing capabilities. By integrating AI processing closer to data sources, such as mobile devices and IoT sensors, the company aims to enhance real-time data analysis and decision-making across various applications.
