SK Telecom decides to spin off its non-mobile business

(ATTN: RECASTS; ADDS more details) By Lee Youkyung SEOUL, May 31 (Yonhap) -- SK Telecom Co., South Korea's leading mobile carrier, said Tuesday that it will spin off its platform business into a separate company in a bid to enhance efficiency and boost its search for new business. The wireless operator, which controls about half of the country's mobile market, will split the company's division that deals with non-mobile businesses, including mobile software, new media and Internet-protocol TV, a company spokesman said. SK Telecom will wholly own the new company, scheduled to be set up on Oct. 1, it said in a regulatory filing. The decision is subject to approval from boards and shareholders. The company, however, denied media reports that SK Telecom will set up a holding company that owns shares of its mobile and non-mobile firms. It also denied reports that the new unit will merge with its fixed-line service affiliate, SK Broadband Co. The Maeil Business Newspaper, a vernacular economic daily, reported last week that the company plans to split itself into three independent entities -- a holding firm, a mobile service provider and a non-mobile company. SK Telecom has been seeking to counter stagnant growth in the wireless business by advancing into mobile software and mobile applications and also by making inroads into overseas markets. The non-mobile company will continue to focus on building new services in mobile commerce, location-based services and mobile ads, SK Telecom said in a statement. Market watchers said the move is aimed at making the mobile giant more nimble in the fast-changing wireless market and to better cope with the country's tight mobile regulations.