SK Telecom's response can be seen in its recent purchase of Hanaro Telecom which has opened a new era for SK.

Since its establishment more than two decades ago, SK has become Korea's largest mobile carrier with over 20 million subscribers and a 50 percent share of the domestic mobile market.

Hanaro, the second largest fixed-line operator after Korea Telecom, owns HanaTV, the country's most popular video-on-demand service.

With this purchase SK is expected to make headway into broadcasting services as well eventually leading the way to full Internet protocol television.

It also pits Korea's two largest telecoms KT and SK directly against each other. Until recently, the two had operated in different spheres of the business.

SK has been developing a wide range of products to attract more customers. With oil prices reaching new highs the wireless carrier is offering a service that provides information on the cheapest gas stations through mobile Internet access. This service is now making headlines, attracting more than 3,000 users a day.

Arirang News