SK Telecom said on Monday it will make early payments worth about 112 billion won with SK Broadband to reduce the burden on small and midsize partner companies during the Lunar New Year holiday.

The early payments will cover more than 500 partners handling network construction and maintenance and service outsourcing, as well as about 250 distribution channels. SKT plans to make the payments up to 3 weeks earlier than scheduled and disburse them in stages before the Lunar New Year break.

SKT, which established a dedicated department for shared growth and mutual cooperation in 2003, runs financial support programmes on a regular basis, including a shared growth fund and a system called Daegum Jigeup Baro.

The shared growth fund uses interest from deposits contributed by SKT to ease partners' loan-rate burdens and support emergency funding loans. Top-tier partners are offered interest-free loans, cutting loan interest burdens by an average of 5.2 percentage points.

Daegum Jigeup Baro is a system that pays 100 percent of transaction amounts in cash within 2 days from the date spending is approved. Small and midsize enterprises can use it without conditions, and there is no limit on payment size.

SKT also runs support measures for small partner companies, including welfare support for employees, hiring and free training support, and support for building ESG management systems. It achieved a top rating for 13 straight years in last year's shared growth index evaluation.

Jong-seok Park (박종석), SKT's chief financial officer, said it will continue to build a healthy ICT ecosystem that grows together with partner companies.