SK Telecom creates $10 million venture fund with HP

SK Telecom has created a $10 million joint venture fund with Hewlett Packard (HP) of the United States to invest in venture companies in the mobile communication field.

SK Telecom said Sunday that Pyo Moon-Soo, president of SK Telecom, and Carly Fiorina, CEO of HP, exchanged a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the creation of the fund, which is to invest in venture companies in the U.S. state of California. The MOU is designed to activate the wireless Internet market by finding and supporting promising venture companies both at home and abroad.

The objects of their intensive support are promising companies in such fields as portable phone payment services, order-type multimedia services and mobile phone-based Global Positioning System (GPS).

Besides a basic investment, SK Telecom and HP plan to extend active support for research and development, joint development and testing of technology and marketing activities. By investing in the cooperation fund, SK Telecom and HP intend to jointly exploit new mobile technologies and jointly own relevant intellectual property rights with the venture companies involved.

Kim Tae-Han freewill@donga.com