Shanghai MWC Turns into 'Anbang Janchi'... Major Korean Companies Avoid Participation

All Three CEOs of Telecom Companies Absent
No Difference from June MWC Barcelona

MWC Shanghai logo, Photo by MWC Shanghai website

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Once dreamed of as the "Mobile Festival of Asia," the "Mobile World Congress (MWC) Shanghai" is being shunned by major domestic companies. While the main reason is the COVID-19 variable, criticism arises that it fails to differentiate itself from Barcelona, resulting in little incentive to participate.

According to the industry on the 23rd, the CEOs of the three major domestic telecom companies?Park Jung-ho of SK Telecom, Koo Hyun-mo of KT, and Hwang Hyun-sik of LG Uplus?will all be absent from MWC Shanghai 2021, which is held over three days until the 25th.

This year, Samsung Electronics is the only company participating as an official session speaker. Kang In-yeop, President of the System LSI Business Division, will deliver a speech related to the newly introduced "Exynos 2100." Samsung Electronics is also the only major company to open an exhibition booth. This contrasts with Chinese company Huawei, which has 15 speakers.

Previously, telecom CEOs consistently appeared at MWC Shanghai compared to smartphone manufacturers. In 2018, former KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu and LG Chairman Kwon Young-soo (then Vice Chairman of LG Uplus) attended the event. SK Telecom showcased next-generation 5G technology in 2016 in collaboration with venture companies.

While concerns about COVID-19 infection were the biggest reason for companies' absence, internal judgments based on experience that there was no practical benefit also played a significant role. With the main event, MWC Barcelona, postponed to June, the gap between the event dates has narrowed to just over four months. Due to the US-China trade war, participation by American companies has decreased, increasing the concentration of Chinese companies at the event.

A telecom industry official said, "The risk of COVID-19 is the greatest, and the lack of differentiated benefits compared to Barcelona is also a factor that makes participation difficult," adding, "In China, the general view is that there is 'nothing to see and nothing to show.'" Another official said, "Rumors that American companies are withdrawing are also a negative factor." A smartphone industry official hinted, "Except for Apple, domestic smartphones do not perform well in the Chinese market, so even if they attend, the practical benefits would not be significant."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.