KT

KT supports access to digital technologies through centres providing digital access to children from vulnerable social groups. It also provides discounts to low-income and elderly mobile subscribers. KT also discloses the number of people with disabilities that it employs and has several products to accommodate users with disabilities. The company follows best practice by disclosing how the economic value it generates is distributed among its stakeholders.

Through its programme IT Supporters, KT’s current and former employees have been providing training sessions for the last 15 years to help students bridge the digital divide as well as for senior citizens to acquire digital literacy. In 2021, the company launched an initiative to create jobs for senior citizens who have digital skills.

KT demonstrates best practice by making its information security management certificate publicly available and by disclosing information about government requests it receives for user information.

KT collaborates with universities on open source initiatives and standards and in other research areas. Additionally, the company has a venture capital fund, and it supports start-ups, non-profits and social enterprises. The company also supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and uses the SDG framework to measure its goals and progress.

No evidence was found on how KT creates digital opportunities for women and girls.

KT has an opportunity to support school connectivity. Furthers, the company should consider carrying out a third-party assessment of the impact of its existing programmes on advancing digital skills.

No evidence was found regarding responsibility for cybersecurity at the senior level of the company or how the company monitors and responds to security incidents. While the company discloses that it has an information security certificate, it should make this certificate publicly available. KT can also provide greater disclosure on its initiatives to strengthen child online safety.

KT has an opportunity to disclose the number of its women employees in tech roles and detail the ethical principles it follows in its research and development (R&D) activities.

KT commits to respecting human rights and the ILO core labour rights, but it does not require its business relationships to commit to respecting all of the ILO core labour rights. The company identifies, assesses and takes action to address the salient human rights risks in its own operations and in its business relationships. Moreover, it discloses how it engages with stakeholders whose human rights could be impacted by its operations. Additionally, KT has a grievance mechanism accessible to both workers and external stakeholders to raise human rights concerns and complaints.

KT publicly commits to respecting worker health and safety, and it places health and safety expectations on its business relationships and monitors their performance. The company also discloses the proportion of its workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. However, it lacks relevant disclosure in relation to working hours and living wages. For example, the company states that it ensures fair compensation, but it is unclear if this is enough for employees and their families to maintain a decent standard of living. The company provides a breakdown of employees in different employee categories by gender. However, it does not disclose this information against any other indicators of diversity or provide breakdowns for its entire workforce.

KT has a global tax strategy. However, the company does not disclose if this strategy is overseen by a board or executive-level group or individual. Furthermore, the company does not disclose its income tax payments for individual tax jurisdictions. The company also does not have a publicly available policy statement prohibiting bribery and corruption. It does, however, have a grievance mechanism for stakeholders to raise bribery and corruption concerns and complaints. KT specifies that it does not make political contributions as part of its overarching approach to lobbying and political engagement. However, it does not disclose its lobbying expenditures.