SK Telecom said it has launched a sovereign AI cybersecurity council with Upstage, South Korean security companies and universities, and signed an agreement to cooperate on AI information security technology. The initiative aims to expand SKT’s A.X K series and Upstage’s Solar, which advanced to stage 3 of the government’s sovereign AI foundation model project, into cybersecurity. Participants will train the models on real-world security data, validate safety and apply them to security products and services.

SK Telecom is accelerating upgrades to its proprietary foundation models, seeking to combine them with specialised knowledge from industrial sites such as manufacturing, semiconductors and batteries. At the Digital Insight 2026 conference in Seoul, an executive said models that can be controlled domestically help turn subtle field knowledge into assets and preserve choice over key AI technologies. The company is developing a suite centred on A.X K2 and prioritises evaluation, safety and practical usability over absolute performance contests.