The following discussion and analysis is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB. Overview We are an integrated provider of telecommunications services. Our principal telecommunications and Internet-related services include mobile voice and data telecommunications services, fixed-line services (consisting of fixed-line telephone, VoIP telephone, broadband Internet access and data communication services) and media and content services (including IPTV and satellite TV). The principal factors affecting our revenue from these services have been our rates for, and the usage volume of, these services, as well as the number of subscribers. For information on rates we charge for our services, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—Item 4.B. Business Overview—Our Rates.” In addition, we derive revenue from credit card processing and other financial services, sale of goods (primarily handsets related to our mobile services and miscellaneous telecommunications equipment, as well as sale of residential units and commercial real estate developed KT Estate), and miscellaneous business activities including information technology and network services, real estate development and satellite services. Our five operating segments for financial reporting purposes are organized as the following: •the ICT segment, which primarily consists of KT Corporation on a standalone basis that is primarily engaged in providing various telecommunications and platform services to individual, household and corporate customers as well as selling handsets; 41 Table of Contents •the finance segment, which engages in providing various financial services such as credit card services and value-added network and payment gateway services; •the satellite TV segment, which engages in satellite TV services; •the real estate segment, which engages in real property development and leasing services; and •the others segment, which includes (i) information technology and network services, (ii) contents and commerce services, (iii) security services, (iv) satellite service, (v) global business services that provide global network services to multinational or domestic corporate customers and telecommunications companies and (vi) miscellaneous services provided by our subsidiaries. Our future performance will depend at least in part on Korea’s general economic growth and prospects. For a description of recent developments that have had and may continue to have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition, see “Item 3. Key Information—Item 3.D. Risk Factors—If economic conditions in Korea deteriorate, our current business and future growth could be materially and adversely affected.” A number of other developments have had or are expected to have a material impact on our results of operations, financial condition and capital expenditures. These developments include: •acquisition of new bandwidth licenses and usage fees; •researching and implementing technology upgrades and additional telecommunications services; •changes in the rate structure for our telecommunications services; and •acquisitions and disposals of interests in subsidiaries and joint ventures. As a result of these factors, our financial results in the past may not be indicative of future results or trends in those results. Acquisition of New Bandwidth Licenses and Usage Fees One of the principal limitations on a wireless network’s subscriber capacity is the amount of bandwidth allocated to a service provider. The growth of our mobile telecommunications business and the increase in usage of wireless data transmission services have been significant factors in the increased utilization of our bandwidth, since wireless data applications are generally more bandwidth-intensive than voice services. The current trend of increasing data transmission use and the increasing sophistication of multimedia contents are likely to put additional strain on the bandwidth capacity of mobile service providers. We have acquired a number of licenses in recent years to secure additional bandwidth capacity to provide our broad range of services, for which we typically make an initial payment as well as pay usage fees during the license period. The MSIT reserves the right to reallocate bandwidths in order to address the changing needs for bandwidth capacity of mobile service providers, the consideration for which may depend on the extent of the buildout of the service provider’s telecommunications network to utilize the relevant bandwidth. For example, certain bandwidths used for our existing 3G and 4G LTE services, including the 900 MHz, 1.8 GHz and 2.1 GHz bands, are scheduled to be reallocated in 2026, which will require additional payments and compliance with revised deployment, coverage and bandwidth utilization requirements. For all of our bandwidth licenses, we made aggregate payments of W327 billion in 2023, W299 billion in 2024 and W290 billion in 2025. The following table sets forth our outstanding payment obligations relating to our bandwidth licenses as of December 31, 2025. 42 Table of Contents Spectrum Bandwidth License Acquisition Date Total Payable Amount (in billions of Won) Total remaining amount (in billions of Won) Initial Payment Amount (in billions of Won) Initial Payment Year Annual Usage Fee (in billions of Won) Annual Usage Fee Payment Term 900 MHz 20 MHz July 1, 2021 ₩ 141 ₩ 21 ₩ 35 2021 ₩ 21 2022 to 2026 1.8 GHz 35 MHz July 1, 2021 ₩ 548 ₩ 82 ₩ 137 2021 ₩ 82 2022 to 2026 1.8 GHz 20 MHz Aug. 4, 2016 ₩ 470 ₩ 35 ₩ 118 2016 ₩ 35 2017 to 2026 2.1 GHz 40 MHz Dec. 6, 2021 ₩ 412 ₩ 62 ₩ 103 2021 ₩ 62 2022 to 2026 3.5 GHz 100 MHz Dec. 1, 2018 ₩ 968 ₩ 218 ₩ 242 2018 ₩ 73 2019 to 2028 Researching and Implementing Technology Upgrades and Additional Telecommunications Services such as 5G Technologies The telecommunications industry is characterized by continued advances and improvements in telecommunications technology, and we have been continually researching and implementing network upgrades and launching additional telecommunications services to maintain our competitiveness. In recent years, we have made extensive efforts to continue to develop mobile services with enhanced speed, latency and connectivity that enable us to offer significantly improved wireless data transmission with faster access to multimedia content. We also make investments to continually upgrade our broadband network to enable better FTTH connection, which further enhances data transmission speed and connection quality. FTTH is a telecommunication architecture in which a communication path is provided over optical fiber cables extending from the telecommunications operator’s switching equipment to the boundary of home or office. FTTH uses fiber optic cable, which is able to carry a high-bandwidth signal for longer distances without degradation. FTTH enables us to deliver enhanced services that require high bandwidth with stability, such as IPTV and other digital media content. The MSIT has the authority to recommend to network service providers that they provide funds for national research and development of telecommunications technology and related projects. Including such contributions, total expenditures (which include capitalized expenses) on research and development were ￦225 billion in 2023, ￦212 billion in 2024 and ￦355 billion in 2025. We plan to continue to invest in researching and implementing network upgrades, which will entail additional operating expenses as well as capital expenditures. Fee Discounts and Adjustments to the Rates for Our Telecommunications Services We provide bundled packages of our various services at a discount in order to attract additional subscribers to our new services. We offer discounts to customers who subscribe to two or more of our fixed-line and TV services consisting of fixed-line telephone, VoIP telephone, broadband Internet access, IPTV and satellite TV services. For our mobile services, we offer a family plan that provides a discount for each additional mobile phone subscription. We also offer various bundled rate plans that combine our fixed-line and TV services with mobile services, for both households and single subscribers. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—Item 4.B. Business Overview—Our Rates.” Changes in our local telephone rates are required to be reported to the MSIT, which has 15 days to object to such changes. The form of our standard agreement for providing local network service and each agreement for interconnection with other service providers must also be reported to the MSIT. Although we compete freely with other network service providers in terms of rate plans for our principal telecommunications and Internet-related services except for rates we charge for local calls, the MSIT may periodically announce policy guidelines that we may be recommended to take into consideration. The Government may pursue additional measures to regulate the markets in which we compete. There can be no assurance that we will not adopt additional measures that reduce rates charged to our subscribers as well as adjustments to our handset subsidies and other measures in the future to comply with regulatory requirements or the Government’s policy guidelines. For a discussion of adjustments in our rate structure, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—Item 4.B. Business Overview—Our Rates.” 43 Table of Contents Acquisitions and Disposals of Interests in Subsidiaries and Joint Ventures One key aspect of our overall business strategy calls for acquisitions of businesses and entering into joint ventures that complement or diversify our current business, as well as disposal or termination of such businesses from time to time. The identification of suitable acquisition candidates can be difficult, time-consuming and costly, and our financial condition and results of operations may be affected as a result of such acquisitions, disposals or consolidation. Furthermore, pursuing acquisitions, joint venture and certain investment transactions also requires significant capital, and as we pursue further growth opportunities for the future, we may need to raise additional capital by incurring loans or through the issuances of bonds or other securities in the international capital markets, which may lead to increased levels of debt and debt servicing costs in the future. Explanatory Note Regarding Presentation of Certain Financial Information under K-IFRS In addition to preparing financial statements in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB included in this annual report, we prepare financial statements in accordance with K-IFRS, which we are required to file with the Financial Services Commission and the Korea Exchange under the FSCMA. K-IFRS differs in certain respects from IFRS as issued by the IASB in the presentation of operating profit. Additionally, under K‑IFRS, revenue from the development and sale of real estate is recognized using the percentage of completion method. However, under IFRS as issued by the IASB, revenue from the development and sale of real estate is recognized when an individual unit of residential real estate is delivered to the buyer. Primarily due to such differences, our consolidated statements of comprehensive income and our consolidated statements of financial position prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB included in this annual report differ from our consolidated statements of comprehensive income and consolidated statements of financial position prepared in accordance with K-IFRS. The table below sets forth a reconciliation of our operating profit and net income or loss as presented in our consolidated statements of profit or loss prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB for each of the years ended December 31, 2023, 2024 and 2025 to our operating profit and net income or loss in our consolidated statements of profit or loss prepared in accordance with K-IFRS, for each of the corresponding years, taking into account such differences: For the Year Ended December 31, 2023 2024 2025 (In billions of Won) Operating profit under IFRS as issued by the IASB ₩ 1,428 ₩ 640 ₩ 2,529 Differences under K-IFRS requiring other income and other expenses to be distinguished from operating revenue 200 156 (76) Revenue recognition of development, sale of real estate, etc. 22 13 17 Operating profit under K-IFRS ₩ 1,650 ₩ — ₩ 809 ₩ 2,470 For the Year Ended December 31, 2023 2024 2025 (In billions of Won) Net income under IFRS as issued by the IASB ₩ 972 ₩ 407 ₩ 1,825 Revenue recognition of development, sale of real estate, etc. 22 13 ₩ 17 Income tax (5) (3) ₩ (5) Profit for the year under K-IFRS ₩ 989 ₩ 417 ₩ 1,837 Changes in Accounting Policies For a summary of new standards, amendments and interpretations issued under IFRS as issued by the IASB, see Note 2.2 of the notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. 44 Table of Contents Operating Revenue and Operating Expenses Operating Revenue Our operating revenue primarily consists of: •fees related to our mobile services, including monthly fees, usage charges for outgoing calls, usage charges for wireless data transmission, contents download fees, mobile-to-mobile interconnection revenue and value-added monthly service fees; •fees from our fixed-line services, including: Øbroadband Internet access service revenue, primarily consisting of installation fees and basic monthly charges; Øfees from our fixed-line and VoIP telephone services, which include: Ømonthly basic charges, which are one-time or monthly fixed charges primarily consisting of (i) non-refundable activation fees; and (ii) monthly fixed charges from local telephone services (or monthly fixed charges for discount plans); Ømonthly usage charges, which are usage fees based on the amount of services used, primarily consisting of (i) monthly usage charges for local telephone and domestic long distance services; (ii) international long-distance service revenue, (primarily (a) amounts we bill to our customers for outgoing calls made to foreign countries, (b) amounts we bill to foreign telecommunications carriers for connection to the domestic telephone network in respect of incoming calls at the applicable settlement rate, and (c) other revenue, including revenue from international leased lines); (iii) land-to-mobile and land-to-land interconnection revenue; and (iv) interconnection fees we charge to fixed-line and mobile service providers and voice resellers for their use of our local, domestic long-distance and international networks in providing their services; and Øother revenue from (i) value-added services, local telephone directory assistance, call waiting and caller identification services; and (ii) local, domestic long-distance and international calls placed from public telephones; and Ødata communication services, primarily consisting of installation fees and basic monthly charges for our fixed-line and satellite leased line services and Kornet Internet connection service; •revenue from media and content services, primarily consisting of installation fees and basic monthly charges of IPTV and satellite TV services, as well as revenue from digital music services, e-commerce services, online advertising consulting services and web comics and novels services; •financial service revenue, primarily consisting of fees from credit card services provided by BC Card, our consolidated subsidiary in which we held a 69.5% interest as of December 31, 2025; •revenue from our miscellaneous business activities categorized as “others,” including information technology and network services and rental of real estate; and •revenue from sale of goods, primarily handsets related to our mobile services and miscellaneous telecommunications equipment, as well as sale of residential units and commercial real estate developed by KT Estate. 45 Table of Contents Operating Expenses Our operating expenses primarily include: •employee benefit costs, including salaries and wages, post-employment benefits, termination benefits (including severance benefits for voluntary and special early retirements) and share-based payments; •purchase of inventories, primarily consisting of (i) inventories purchased for our sale of mobile handsets and (ii) development costs of KT Estate for real estate units to be sold, and changes of inventories, which reflects increases or decreases of inventories of handsets, phones and for-sale real estate units during the applicable period; •card service costs, primarily consisting of costs in connection with credit and cash card services provided by BC Card, including fees paid to member credit card companies in our network for marketing expenses; •depreciation expenses incurred primarily in connection with our telecommunications network facilities; •sales commissions, primarily consisting of sales commissions to third-party dealers related to procurement of mobile subscribers and mobile handset sales; •service cost, primarily consisting of payments to IPTV and satellite TV content providers; •commissions, primarily consisting of commission-based payments for certain third-party outsourcing services, including commissions to the outsourced call center staff; •amortization expenses incurred primarily in connection with our intangible assets; and •interconnection charges, which are interconnection payments to telecommunication service providers for calls from landline users and our mobile subscribers to our competitors’ subscribers. 46 Table of Contents Operating Results—2025 Compared to 2024 The following table presents selected income statement data and changes therein for 2024 and 2025: For the Year EndedDecember 31, Changes 2024 vs. 2025 2024 2025 Amount % (In billions of Won) Operating revenue ₩ 26,724 ₩ 28,548 ₩ 1,823 6.8 % Operating expenses 26,084 26,019 (65) (0.2) Operating profit 640 2,529 1,889 295.1 Finance income 918 627 (291) (31.7) Finance costs 995 772 (223) (22.4) Share of net profits of associates and joint ventures 9 18 9 108.7 Profit before income tax 572 2,401 1,830 320.2 Income tax expense 165 577 412 249.9 Profit for the year ₩ 407 ₩ 1,825 1,418 348.7 Operating Revenue The following table presents a breakdown of our operating revenue and changes therein for 2024 and 2025: For the Year EndedDecember 31, Changes 2024 vs. 2025 Products and services 2024 2025 Amount % (In billions of Won) Mobile services ₩ 7,318 ₩ 7,586 ₩ 268 3.7 % Fixed-line services: Fixed-line and VoIP telephone services 1,188 1,116 (72) (6.1) Broadband Internet access services 2,634 2,684 50 1.9 Data communication services 1,335 1,392 57 4.2 Subtotal 5,158 5,192 34 0.7 Media and content services 3,107 3,085 (22) (0.7) Financial services 3,743 3,474 (269) (7.2) Others 4,025 4,346 321 8.0 Sale of goods (1) 3,374 4,865 1,491 44.2 Total operating revenue ₩ 26,724 ₩ 28,548 1,823 6.8 _______________________ (1)Primarily related to sale of handsets for our mobile service and miscellaneous telecommunications equipment, as well as sale of residential units and commercial real estate developed by KT Estate. Total operating revenue increased by 6.8%, or ￦1,823 billion, from ￦26,724 billion in 2024 to ￦28,548 billion in 2025 primarily due to increases in revenue from our sale of goods, information technology and network services categorized as “others” (particularly from the operation of Internet data centers and systems integration services), mobile services, data communication services and broadband Internet access services, which impact was partially offset by decreases in revenue from financial services, fixed-line and VoIP telephone services and media and content services. 47 Table of Contents Mobile Services Our mobile services revenue increased by 3.7%, or W268 billion, from W7,318 billion in 2024 to W7,586 billion in 2025 primarily due to an increase in our overall mobile subscribers, which was partially due to the transfer of subscribers of another mobile service provider following its cybersecurity incident in the first half of 2025, as well as increases in our average revenue per subscriber. We recorded an 11.1% increase in our mobile subscribers from 26.1 million subscribers as of December 31, 2024 to 29.0 million subscribers as of December 31, 2025 due to (i) a 25.0% increase in our subscribers of mobile services for miscellaneous devices such as tablets and other IoT devices from 5.6 million as of December 31, 2024 to 7.0 million as of December 31, 2025, (ii) a 16.5% increase in our subscribers of MVNO mobile subscribers from 7.2 million as of December 31, 2024 to 8.4 million as of December 31, 2025 and (iii) a 2.0% increase in our MNO mobile phone subscribers from 13.4 million as of December 31, 2024 to 13.6 million as of December 31, 2025. While our mobile services revenue in 2025 benefited from an increase in our overall mobile subscribers, which was partially due to the transfer of subscribers of another mobile service provider following its cybersecurity incident in the first half of 2025, the adverse effects from our own cybersecurity incident in September 2025 were only partially reflected in our 2025 results. In particular, our mobile service market share and a significant portion of the subscriber attrition is expected to affect our results of operations in 2026. For information on our cybersecurity incident, see “Item 3. Key Information—Item 3.D. Risk Factors—Cybersecurity breaches may expose us to significant legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation and a loss of confidence of our customers.” Our average revenue per user increased by 1.9%, or W656, from W34,524 in 2024 to W35,180 in 2025 mainly due to an increase in our users subscribing to 5G services and roaming services. Fixed-line Services Our fixed-line services revenue increased by 0.7%, or W34 billion, from W5,158 billion in 2024 to W5,192 billion in 2025, reflecting increases in revenue from data communication services and broadband Internet access services, the impact of which was partially offset by a decrease in revenue from fixed-line and VoIP telephone services. Fixed-line and VoIP Telephone Services Our fixed-line and VoIP telephone services revenue decreased by 6.1%, or W72 billion, from W1,188 billion in 2024 to W1,116 billion in 2025 primarily due to a decrease in the number of PSTN and VoIP lines in service from 11.5 million as of December 31, 2024 to 10.9 million as of December 31, 2025. Broadband Internet Access Services Our broadband Internet access services revenue increased by 1.9%, or W50 billion, from W2,634 billion in 2024 to W2,684 billion in 2025 primarily due to an increase in the number of subscribers to our premium services. The number of our KT GiGA Internet service subscribers increased from approximately 6.9 million as of December 31, 2024 to approximately 7.1 million as of December 31, 2025. Data Communication Services Our data communication services revenue increased by 4.2%, or W57 billion, from W1,335 billion in 2024 to W1,392 billion in 2025 primarily due to (i) increased revenue from major content service providers that experienced increases in traffic volume and data usage and (ii) increased subscriptions to Flexline, our premium enterprise network service. Media and Content Services Our media and content services revenue decreased by 0.7%, or W22 billion, from W3,107 billion in 2024 to W3,085 billion in 2025 primarily due to the divestiture of PlayD, a subsidiary that provided online 48 Table of Contents advertising services. Such decrease was partially offset by an increase in the number of IPTV subscribers opting for higher priced premium plans. The number of IPTV subscribers increased from approximately 9.4 million as of December 31, 2024 to approximately 9.5 million as of December 31, 2025. Financial Services Financial services revenue decreased by 7.2%, or W269 billion, from W3,743 billion in 2024 to W3,474 billion in 2025 primarily due to a decrease in fees from credit card services of BC Card reflecting a reduction in the transaction volume of credit cards utilizing BC Card services. Others Other operating revenue increased by 8.0%, or W321 billion, from W4,025 billion in 2024 to W4,346 billion in 2025 primarily due to an increase in revenue from our information technology services, particularly from the operation of Internet data centers, as well an increase in revenue from KT Estate driven by increases in revenue from hotel operations and rental housing. Sale of Goods Revenue from sale of goods increased by 44.2%, or W1,491 billion, from W3,374 billion in 2024 to W4,865 billion in 2025 primarily due to apartment sales from a real estate development project in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, which accounted for approximately W1 trillion of such revenue. 49 Table of Contents Operating Expenses The following table presents a breakdown of our operating expenses and changes therein for 2024 and 2025: For the Year Ended December 31, Changes 2024 vs. 2025 2024 2025 Amount % (In billions of Won) Employee benefit costs ₩ 5,628 ₩ 4,593 ₩ (1,035) (18.4) % Depreciation 2,828 2,850 22 0.8 Depreciation of right-of-use assets 411 431 20 4.9 Amortization of intangible assets 639 600 (40) (6.2) Commissions 1,403 1,588 184 13.1 Interconnection charges 411 397 (14) (3.3) International interconnection fee 139 129 (9) (6.8) Purchase of inventories 3,527 3,668 141 4.0 Changes of inventories (28) 550 578 N.A. (1) Sales commissions 2,258 2,600 341 15.1 Service costs 2,142 2,446 304 14.2 Utilities 556 571 15 2.7 Taxes and dues 265 268 3 1.0 Rent 148 154 6 4.0 Insurance premium 68 68 (0) (0.1) Installation fees 165 173 8 4.8 Advertising expenses 169 169 (0) (0.2) Allowance for bad debts 151 121 (30) (20.1) Card service costs 3,009 2,794 (215) (7.2) Loss on disposal of property and equipment 90 52 (39) (42.8) Loss on disposal of intangible assets 10 9 (1) (7.8) Loss on disposal of right-of-use assets 3 3 0 9.2 Loss on disposal of investments in associates 0 2 2 N.A. (1) Loss on disposal of investments in subsidiaries 8 7 (1) (17.9) Impairment loss on property and equipment 7 15 8 113.2 Impairment loss on intangible assets 239 43 (196) (82.0) Donations 9 14 5 52.4 Other allowance for bad debts 26 20 (7) (25.3) Others 1,802 1,686 (116) (6.4) Total operating expenses ₩ 26,084 ₩ 26,019 (65) (0.2) _______________________ (1) N.A. means not available. Total operating expenses decreased by 0.2%, or ￦65 billion, from ￦26,084 billion in 2024 to ￦26,019 billion in 2025 primarily due to decreases in employee benefit costs, card service costs and impairment loss on intangible assets, which impact was partially offset by fluctuations in changes of inventories and increases in sales commissions and service costs. Specifically: •Employee benefit costs, which include salaries and wages, post-employment benefits and termination benefits, decreased by 18.4%, or W1,035 billion, from W5,628 billion in 2024 to W4,593 billion in 2025 primarily due to (i) W956 billion of benefits paid under our special voluntary retirement program implemented in the fourth quarter of 2024, which was not repeated in 2025 and (ii) a decrease in the number of our employees following such retirement program. 50 Table of Contents •Card service costs decreased by 7.2%, or W215 billion, from W3,009 billion in 2024 to W2,794 billion in 2025 primarily due to a decrease in the card service costs of BC Card reflecting a reduction in the transaction volume of credit cards utilizing BC Card services. •Impairment loss on intangible assets decreased by 82.0%, or W196 billion, from W239 billion in 2024 to W43 billion in 2025 primarily due to impairment losses on goodwill recognized in 2024 relating to HCN Co., Ltd. and Epsilon Global Communications Pte. Ltd., which did not recur in 2025. These factors were partially offset by the following: •We recorded changes of inventories of W(28) billion in 2024 compared to changes of inventories of W550 billion in 2025 primarily due to a decrease in inventories related to mobile handsets, which reflected, in part, higher levels of handsets sold in connection with the increase in our overall mobile subscribers as discussed above. •Sales commissions increased by 15.1%, or W341 billion, from W2,258 billion in 2024 to W2,600 billion in 2025 primarily due to (i) an increase in subscribers, which was partially attributable to subscriber migration from another mobile service provider following its cybersecurity incident in the first half of 2025 and (ii) customer compensation expenses incurred in connection with our cybersecurity incident in September 2025, including costs associated with voluntary measures, such as SIM card replacements and customer compensation packages. •Service costs increased by 14.2%, or ￦304 billion, from ￦2,142 billion in 2024 to ￦2,446 billion in 2025 primarily due to service costs incurred by kt cloud related to internet data center and cloud operations. Operating Profit Due to the factors described above, our operating profit increased by 295.1%, or W1,889 billion, from W640 billion in 2024 to W2,529 billion in 2025. Our operating margin, which is operating profit as a percentage of operating revenue, increased from 2.4% in 2024 to 8.9% in 2025. Finance Income (Costs) The following table presents a breakdown of our finance income and costs and changes therein for 2024 and 2025: 51 Table of Contents For the Year EndedDecember 31, Changes 2024 vs. 2025 2024 2025 Amount % (In billions of Won) Interest income ₩ 304 ₩ 259 ₩ (44) (14.6) % Gain on foreign currency transactions 27 90 63 231.2 Gain on foreign currency translation 44 86 42 97.0 Gain on derivative transactions 49 12 (37) (75.3) Gain on valuation of derivatives 399 65 (335) (83.8) Gain on disposal of trade receivables — — — N.A.(1) Gain on valuation of financial instruments 13 42 29 217.2 Others 82 73 (9) (11.5) Total finance income ₩ 918 ₩ 627 (291) (31.7) Interest expenses ₩ 375 ₩ 366 (9) (2.3) Loss on foreign currency transactions 49 19 (30) (61.7) Loss on foreign currency translation 427 74 (353) (82.8) Loss on derivative transactions 11 80 69 650.0 Loss on valuation of derivatives 4 63 59 1,553.3 Loss on disposal of trade receivables 8 13 5 64.4 Loss on valuation of financial instruments 112 153 41 36.6 Others 9 4 (5) (52.9) Total finance costs ₩ 995 ₩ 772 (223) (22.4) _______________________ (1) N.A. means not available. We recognized net gain on foreign currency translation of W12 billion in 2025 compared to net loss on foreign currency translation of W383 billion in 2024, as the Won depreciated against the U.S. dollar at year-end 2024 but appreciated at year-end 2025. In terms of the Market Average Exchange Rate, the Won depreciated against the U.S. dollar from W1,289.4 to US$1.00 as of December 31, 2023 to W1,470.0 to US$1.00 as of December 31, 2024, but appreciated to W1,434.9 to US$1.00 as of December 31, 2025. In addition, we recognized net gain on foreign currency transactions of W71 billion in 2025 compared to net loss on foreign currency transactions of W22 billion in 2024, as the average value of the Won against the U.S. dollar depreciated in 2024 and further depreciated in 2025. The Market Average Exchange Rate, which was W1,305.4 to US$1.00 as of December 31, 2023, depreciated during 2024 to an average of W1,364.0 to US$1.00 in 2024 and further depreciated during 2025 to an average of W1,422.2 to US$1.00 in 2025. Against such fluctuations, our net gain on valuation of derivatives decreased by 99.5%, or W393 billion, from W395 billion in 2024 to W2 billion in 2025, and we recognized net loss on derivative transactions of W68 billion in 2025 compared to net gain of W38 billion in 2024. Our net loss on valuation of financial instruments increased by 12.6%, or W13 billion, from W99 billion in 2024 to W111 billion in 2025 primarily due to an increase in the valuation loss of our investments in TeamFresh Co., Ltd. Our interest income decreased by 14.6%, or W44 billion, from W304 billion in 2024 to W259 billion in 2025 primarily due to generally lower levels of interest-earning assets and interest rates in 2025 compared to 2024. Our interest expenses decreased by 2.3%, or W9 billion, from W375 billion in 2024 to W366 billion in 2025 primarily due to generally lower levels of interest rates in 2025 compared to 2024. Share of Net Profits of Associates and Joint Ventures Our share of net profits of associates and joint ventures increased by 108.7%, or W9 billion, from W9 billion in 2024 to W18 billion in 2025. In 2024, our share of net profit of associates and joint ventures consisted 52 Table of Contents primarily of our share of profit from (i) Kbank of W44 billion and (ii) KIF Investment Fund of W12 billion, the impact of which was significantly offset by our share of loss from other associates and joint ventures of W36 billion, partly attributable to KT Investment Co., Ltd. In 2025, our share of net profit of associates and joint ventures consisted primarily of our share of profit from (i) Kbank of W32 billion and (ii) KIF Investment Fund of W7 billion, the impact of which was significantly offset by our share of loss from other associates and joint ventures of W23 billion, partly attributable to KT Investment Co., Ltd. Income Tax Expense Income tax expense increased by 249.9%, or W412 billion, from W165 billion in 2024 to W577 billion in 2025, as our profit before income tax increased by 320.2%, or W1,829 billion, from W572 billion in 2024 to W2,401 billion in 2025. Our effective tax rate was 28.8% in 2024 and 24.0% in 2025. See Note 30 of the notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Profit for the Year Due to the factors described above, our profit for the year increased by 348.7%, or W1,418 billion, from ￦407 billion in 2024 to W1,825 billion in 2025. Our net profit margin, which is net profit for the year as a percentage of operating revenue, increased from 1.5% in 2024 to 6.4% in 2025. Segment Results—ICT The following table presents selected income statement data of the ICT segment and changes therein for 2024 and 2025: For the Year EndedDecember 31, Changes 2024 vs. 2025 2024 2025 Amount % (In billions of Won) Operating revenue ₩ 18,929 ₩ 19,592 ₩ 663 3.5 % Operating expenses 18,496 18,135 (361) (2.0) Operating income 433 1,457 1,024 236.7 Depreciation and amortization (1) 3,231 3,241 11 0.3 _______________________ (1)Sum of the amortization of tangible assets, intangible assets, investment properties and right-of-use assets. The operating revenue for our ICT segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 3.5%, or W663 billion, from W18,929 billion in 2024 to W19,592 billion in 2025, primarily due to increases in revenue from our mobile services, broadband Internet access services and data communication services, which impact was offset by decreases in revenue from our fixed-line and VoIP telephone services, as described above. The increase in revenue from our mobile services was primarily due to an increase in our overall mobile subscribers, which was partially due to the transfer of subscribers of another mobile service provider following its cybersecurity incident in the first half of 2025 as discussed above. The operating income for our ICT segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 236.7%, or W1,024 billion, from W433 billion in 2024 to W1,457 billion in 2025, as the W663 billion increase in the segment’s operating revenue was enhanced by the W361 billion decrease in operating expenses. For this segment, operating margin, which is operating profit as a percentage of total operating revenue prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased from 2.3% in 2024 to 7.4% in 2025. Depreciation and amortization for our ICT segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 0.3%, or W11 billion, from W3,231 billion in 2024 to W3,241 billion in 2025. 53 Table of Contents Segment Results—Finance The following table presents selected income statement data of the finance segment and changes therein for 2024 and 2025: For the YearEndedDecember 31, Changes 2024 vs. 2025 2024 2025 Amount % (In billions of Won) Operating revenue ₩ 3,559 ₩ 3,361 ₩ (198) (5.6) % Operating expenses 3,415 3,209 (207) (6.1) Operating income 143 152 9 6.2 Depreciation and amortization (1) 34 29 (5) (14.1) _______________________ (1)Sum of the amortization of tangible assets, intangible assets, investment properties and right-of-use assets. The operating revenue for our finance segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, decreased by 5.6%, or W198 billion, from W3,559 billion in 2024 to W3,361 billion in 2025 primarily due to a decrease in revenue of BC Card’s value added network business. The operating income for our finance segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 6.2%, or W9 billion, from W143 billion in 2024 to W152 billion in 2025, as the W207 billion decrease in the segment’s operating expenses outpaced the W198 billion decrease in operating revenue. For this segment, operating margin increased from 4.0% in 2024 to 4.5% in 2025. Depreciation and amortization for our finance segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, decreased by 14.1%, or W5 billion, from W34 billion in 2024 to W29 billion in 2025. Segment Results—Satellite TV The following table presents selected income statement data of the satellite TV segment and changes therein for 2024 and 2025: For the YearEndedDecember 31, Changes 2024 vs. 2025 2024 2025 Amount % (In billions of Won) Operating revenue ₩ 710 ₩ 688 ₩ (22) (3.0) % Operating expenses 817 663 (154) (18.9) Operating income (loss) (107) 26 133 N.A.(2) Depreciation and amortization (1) 48 44 (4) (7.5) _______________________ (1)Sum of the amortization of tangible assets, intangible assets, investment properties and right-of-use assets. (2)N.A. means not available. Our operating revenue for the satellite TV segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, decreased by 3.0%, or W22 billion, from W710 billion in 2024 to W688 billion in 2025 due to a decrease in consolidated operating revenue of KT Skylife. The satellite TV segment recognized operating loss, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, of W107 billion in 2024 compared to operating income, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, of W26 billion in 2025, as the W154 billion decrease in the segment’s operating expenses outpaced the W22 billion decrease in operating revenue. For this segment, operating loss margin was 15.1% in 2024 and operating margin was 3.7% in 2025. 54 Table of Contents Depreciation and amortization for our satellite TV segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, decreased by 7.5%, or W4 billion, from W48 billion in 2024 to W44 billion in 2025. Segment Results—Real Estate The following table presents selected income statement data of the real estate segment and changes therein for 2024 and 2025: For the Year EndedDecember 31, Changes 2024 vs. 2025 2024 2025 Amount % (In billions of Won) Operating revenue ₩ 547 ₩ 693 ₩ 146 26.8 % Operating expenses 462 594 132 28.6 Operating income 85 100 14 16.8 Depreciation and amortization (1) 69 71 2 2.5 _______________________ (1)Sum of the amortization of tangible assets, intangible assets, investment properties and right-of-use assets. The operating revenue for our real estate segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 26.8%, or W146 billion, from W547 billion in 2024 to W693 billion in 2025 primarily due to increases in revenues from apartment presales and hotel operations. The operating income for our real estate segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 16.8%, or W14 billion, from W85 billion in 2024 to W100 billion in 2025, as the W146 billion increase in the segment’s operating revenue outpaced the W132 billion increase in operating expenses. Operating margin for this segment decreased from 15.6% in 2024 to 14.4% in 2025. Depreciation and amortization for our real estate segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 2.5%, or W2 billion, from W69 billion in 2024 to W71 billion in 2025. Segment Results—Others The following table presents selected income statement data of the others segment and changes therein for 2024 and 2025: For the YearEndedDecember 31, Changes 2024 vs. 2025 2024 2025 Amount % (In billions of Won) Operating revenue ₩ 8,223 ₩ 10,474 ₩ 2,251 27.4 % Operating expenses 8,157 9,703 1,546 18.9 Operating income 66 771 706 1,076.1 Depreciation and amortization (1) 605 628 23 3.8 _______________________ (1)Sum of the amortization of tangible assets, intangible assets, investment properties and right-of-use assets. The operating revenue for our others segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 27.4%, or W2,251 billion, from W8,223 billion in 2024 to W10,474 billion in 2025, primarily due to an increase in revenue from our information technology and network services, particularly from the operation of Internet data centers and systems integration services. The operating income for our others segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 1,076.1%, or W706 billion, from W66 billion in 2024 to W771 billion in 2025, as the W2,251 billion 55 Table of Contents increase in the segment’s operating revenue outpaced the W1,546 billion increase in operating expenses. Operating margin for this segment increased from 0.8% in 2024 to 7.4% in 2025. Depreciation and amortization for this segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 3.8%, or W23 billion, from W605 billion in 2024 to W628 billion in 2025. Operating Results—2024 Compared to 2023 The following table presents selected income statement data and changes therein for 2023 and 2024: For the Year EndedDecember 31, Changes 2023 vs. 2024 2023 2024 Amount % (In billions of Won) Operating revenue ₩ 26,595 ₩ 26,724 ₩ 129 0.5 % Operating expenses 25,167 26,084 918 3.6 Operating profit 1,428 640 (788) (55.2) Finance income 486 918 431 88.7 Finance costs 569 995 426 74.9 Share of net profits of associates and joint ventures (43) 9 52 N.A. (1) Profit before income tax 1,303 572 (731) (56.1) Income tax expense 330 165 (165) (50.0) Profit for the year ₩ 972 ₩ 407 (566) (58.2) _______________________ N.A. means not available. Operating Revenue The following table presents a breakdown of our operating revenue and changes therein for 2023 and 2024: For the Year EndedDecember 31, Changes 2023 vs. 2024 Products and services 2023 2024 Amount % (In billions of Won) Mobile services ₩ 7,140 ₩ 7,318 ₩ 178 2.5 % Fixed-line services: Fixed-line and VoIP telephone services 1,249 1,188 (61) (4.9) Broadband Internet access services 2,579 2,634 56 2.2 Data communication services 1,315 1,335 20 1.6 Subtotal 5,142 5,158 15 0.3 Media and content services 3,207 3,107 (99) (3.1) Financial services 3,968 3,743 (225) (5.7) Others 3,846 4,025 179 4.7 Sale of goods (1) 3,293 3,374 81 2.5 Total operating revenue ₩ 26,595 ₩ 26,724 129 0.5 _______________________ (1)Primarily related to sale of handsets for our mobile service and miscellaneous telecommunications equipment, as well as sale of residential units and commercial real estate developed by KT Estate. Total operating revenue increased by 0.5%, or ￦129 billion, from ￦26,595 billion in 2023 to ￦26,724 billion in 2024 primarily due to increases in revenue from our information technology and network services 56 Table of Contents categorized as “others” (particularly from the operation of Internet data centers and systems integration services), mobile services, sale of goods and broadband Internet access services, which impact was partially offset by decreases in revenue from financial services, media and content services and fixed-line and VoIP telephone services. Mobile Services Our mobile services revenue increased by 2.5%, or ￦178 billion, from ￦7,140 billion in 2023 to ￦7,318 billion in 2024 primarily due to increases in our average revenue per subscriber and the number of our MVNO mobile subscribers, as well as the reclassification of revenue generated from KT Skylife related to MVNO mobile subscribers procured by it starting in 2024, which was previously recognized under media and content services. Our average revenue per user increased by 1.6%, or ￦559, from ￦33,965 in 2023 to ￦34,524 in 2024 mainly due to an increase in our users subscribing to 5G services and roaming services. We recorded a 5.0% increase in our mobile subscribers from 24.9 million subscribers as of December 31, 2023 to 26.1 million subscribers as of December 31, 2024 due to (i) a 31.6% increase in our subscribers of mobile services for miscellaneous devices such as tablets and other IoT devices from 4.2 million as of December 31, 2023 to 5.6 million as of December 31, 2024 (primarily from an addition of a significant number of IoT subscribers of Korea Electric Power Corporation’s electricity usage reporting services in the second half of 2024) and (ii) a 0.6% increase in our subscribers of MVNO mobile subscribers from 7.1 million as of December 31, 2023 to 7.2 million as of December 31, 2024, the impact of which was partially offset by a 1.1% decrease in our MNO mobile phone subscribers from 13.5 million as of December 31, 2023 to 13.4 million as of December 31, 2024. Fixed-line Services Our fixed-line services revenue increased by 0.3%, or ￦15 billion, from ￦5,142 billion in 2023 to ￦5,158 billion in 2024, reflecting increases in revenue from broadband Internet access services and data communication services, the impact of which was partially offset by a decrease in revenue from fixed-line and VoIP telephone services. Fixed-line and VoIP Telephone Services. Our fixed-line and VoIP telephone services revenue decreased by 4.9%, or ￦61 billion, from ￦1,249 billion in 2023 to ￦1,188 billion in 2024 primarily due to a decrease in the number of PSTN and VoIP lines in service from 12.0 million as of December 31, 2023 to 11.5 million as of December 31, 2024. Broadband Internet Access Services. Our broadband Internet access services revenue increased by 2.2%, or ￦56 billion, from ￦2,579 billion in 2023 to ￦2,634 billion in 2024 primarily due to an increase in the number of subscribers to our premium services. The number of our KT GiGA Internet service subscribers increased from approximately 6.7 million as of December 31, 2023 to approximately 6.9 million as of December 31, 2024. Data Communication Services. Our data communication services revenue increased by 1.6%, or ￦20 billion, from ￦1,315 billion in 2023 to ￦1,335 billion in 2024 primarily due to increases in revenue from (i) major content service providers that experienced increases in traffic volume and data usage and (ii) the provision of additional services to local governments, including installations of additional CCTVs as well as enhancements of network lines. Media and Content Services Our media and content services revenue decreased by 3.1%, or ￦99 billion, from ￦3,207 billion in 2023 to ￦3,107 billion in 2024 primarily due to (i) the reclassification of revenue generated from KT Skylife related to MVNO mobile subscribers procured by it as mobile services starting in 2024, and (ii) a downturn in the content creation and online advertising industries caused by deteriorating economic conditions, which in turn led to decreases in original content productions and online advertisements provided through KT Nasmedia and PlayD. Such impacts were partially offset by an increase in the number of IPTV subscribers opting for higher 57 Table of Contents priced premium plans. The number of IPTV subscribers remained constant at approximately 9.4 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2024. Financial Services Financial services revenue decreased by 5.7%, or ￦225 billion, from ￦3,968 billion in 2023 to ￦3,743 billion in 2024 primarily due to a decrease in fees from credit card services of BC Card reflecting a reduction in the transaction volume of credit cards utilizing BC Card services. Others Other operating revenue increased by 4.7%, or ￦179 billion, from ￦3,846 billion in 2023 to ￦4,025 billion in 2024 primarily due to an increase in revenue from our information technology services, particularly from the operation of Internet data centers, as well an increase in revenue from KT Estate driven by increases in revenue from hotel operations and rental housing. Sale of Goods Revenue from sale of goods increased by 2.5%, or ￦81 billion, from ￦3,293 billion in 2023 to ￦3,374 billion in 2024 primarily reflecting increases in sales of educational smart devices and e-commerce products, particularly cosmetics. 58 Table of Contents Operating Expenses The following table presents a breakdown of our operating expenses and changes therein for 2023 and 2024: For the Year Ended December 31, Changes 2023 vs. 2024 2023 2024 Amount % (In billions of Won) Employee benefit costs ₩ 4,557 ₩ 5,628 ₩ 1,071 23.5 % Depreciation 2,724 2,828 104 3.8 Depreciation of right-of-use assets 403 411 8 2.0 Amortization of intangible assets 684 639 (45) (6.5) Commissions 1,265 1,403 139 11.0 Interconnection charges 437 411 (26) (5.9) International interconnection fee 140 139 (2) (1.2) Purchase of inventories 3,595 3,527 (69) (1.9) Changes of inventories (203) (28) 175 (86.2) Sales commissions 2,353 2,258 (95) (4.0) Service costs 2,230 2,142 (88) (3.9) Utilities 545 556 11 2.1 Taxes and dues 251 265 15 5.8 Rent 168 148 (20) (11.9) Insurance premium 67 68 2 2.6 Installation fees 174 165 (9) (5.3) Advertising expenses 154 169 15 10.0 Allowance for bad debts 151 151 1 0.6 Card service costs 3,189 3,009 (180) (5.7) Loss on disposal of property and equipment 73 90 18 24.3 Loss on disposal of intangible assets 5 10 4 82.3 Loss on disposal of right-of-use assets 2 3 0 21.9 Loss on disposal of investments in associates — 0 0 N.A. (1) Loss on disposal of investments in subsidiaries — 8 8 N.A. (1) Impairment loss on property and equipment 8 7 (1) (8.7) Impairment loss on intangible assets 236 239 3 1.3 Donations 25 9 (15) (61.5) Other allowance for bad debts 34 26 (8) (22.4) Others 1,902 1,802 (101) (5.3) Total operating expenses ₩ 25,167 ₩ 26,084 918 3.6 _______________________ N.A. means not available. Total operating expenses increased by 3.6%, or ￦918 billion, from ￦25,167 billion in 2023 to ￦26,084 billion in 2024 primarily due to increases in employee benefit costs, changes of inventories, commissions and depreciation expenses, which impact was partially offset by decreases in card service costs, sales commissions and service cost. Specifically: •Employee benefit costs, which include salaries and wages, post-employment benefits and termination benefits, increased by 23.5%, or ￦1,071 billion, from ￦4,557 billion in 2023 to ￦5,628 billion in 2024 primarily due to ￦956 billion of benefits paid under our special voluntary retirement program implemented in the fourth quarter of 2024 to optimize our workforce, pursuant to which approximately 2,700 employees elected to retire early and approximately 1,700 employees chose to transfer to a newly established KT subsidiary, for which they were paid additional benefits for making this transition. 59 Table of Contents •Changes of inventories decreased by 86.2%, or ￦175 billion, from ￦(203) billion in 2023 to ￦(28) billion in 2024 primarily due to an increase in inventories related to KT Estate’s large-scale real estate project in Gangbuk, Seoul, in 2024. •Commissions increased by 11.0%, or ￦139 billion, from ￦1,265 billion in 2023 to ￦1,403 billion in 2024 primarily reflecting general increases in commission costs related to system development for the launch of new services, as well as other miscellaneous commission costs. •Depreciation expenses increased by 3.8%, or ￦104 billion, from ￦2,724 billion in 2023 to ￦2,828 billion in 2024 primarily reflecting increase in depreciable assets. These factors were partially offset by the following: •Card service costs decreased by 5.7%, or ￦180 billion, from ￦3,189 billion in 2023 to ￦3,009 billion in 2024 primarily due to a decrease in the card service costs of BC Card reflecting a reduction in the transaction volume of credit cards utilizing BC Card services. •Sales commissions decreased by 4.0%, or ￦95 billion, from ￦2,353 billion in 2023 to ￦2,258 billion in 2024 primarily due to a decrease in the number of newly acquired MNO mobile subscribers. •Service costs decreased by 3.9%, or ￦88 billion, from ￦2,230 billion in 2023 to ￦2,142 billion in 2024 primarily due to the elimination of service cost related to Lolab Co., Ltd., following our divestiture. Operating Profit Due to the factors described above, our operating profit decreased by 55.2%, or ￦788 billion, from ￦1,428 billion in 2023 to ￦640 billion in 2024. Our operating margin, which is operating profit as a percentage of operating revenue, decreased from 5.4% in 2023 to 2.4% in 2024. 60 Table of Contents Finance Income (Costs) The following table presents a breakdown of our finance income and costs and changes therein for 2023 and 2024: For the Year EndedDecember 31, Changes 2023 vs. 2024 2023 2024 Amount % (In billions of Won) Interest income ₩ 280 ₩ 304 ₩ 24 8.6 % Gain on foreign currency transactions 27 27 (0 ) (0.5) Gain on foreign currency translation 12 44 32 264.8 Gain on derivative transactions 12 49 36 294.7 Gain on valuation of derivatives 50 399 349 700.4 Gain on disposal of trade receivables 3 — (3) N.A. Gain on valuation of financial instruments 32 13 (19) (59.5) Others 69 82 13 18.9 Total finance income ₩ 486 ₩ 918 431 88.7 Interest expenses ₩ 356 ₩ 375 18 5.1 Loss on foreign currency transactions 34 49 15 43.8 Loss on foreign currency translation 96 427 331 345.9 Loss on derivative transactions 0 11 10 2,454.2 Loss on valuation of derivatives 7 4 (3) (42.5) Loss on disposal of trade receivables 18 8 (10) (55.8) Loss on valuation of financial instruments 55 112 57 103.7 Others 2 9 7 312.5 Total finance costs ₩ 569 ₩ 995 426 74.9 _______________________ N.A. means not available. Our net loss on foreign currency translation increased by 357.4%, or ￦299 billion, from ￦84 billion in 2023 to ￦383 billion in 2024, as the Won depreciated against the U.S. dollar at year-end 2023 and further depreciated (to a much greater extent) at year-end 2024. In terms of the Market Average Exchange Rate, the Won depreciated against the U.S. dollar from ￦1,267.3 to US$1.00 as of December 31, 2022 to ￦1,289.4 to US$1.00 as of December 31, 2023, and further depreciated to ￦1,470.0 to US$1.00 as of December 31, 2024. In addition, our net loss on foreign currency transactions increased by 220.6%, or ￦15 billion, from ￦7 billion in 2023 to ￦22 billion in 2024, as the average value of the Won against the U.S. dollar depreciated in 2023 and further depreciated (to a much greater extent) in 2024. The Market Average Exchange Rate, which was ￦1,292.0 to US$1.00 as of December 31, 2022, depreciated during 2023 to an average of ￦1,305.4 to US$1.00 in 2023 and further depreciated during 2024 to an average of ￦1,364.0 to US$1.00 in 2024. Against such fluctuations, our net gain on valuation of derivatives increased by 813.7%, or ￦352 billion, from ￦43 billion in 2023 to ￦395 billion in 2024, and our net gain on derivative transactions increased by 219.0%, or ￦26 billion, from ￦12 billion in 2023 to ￦38 billion in 2024. Our net loss on valuation of financial instruments increased by 338.5%, or ￦76 billion, from ￦23 billion in 2023 to ￦99 billion in 2024 primarily due to an increase in the valuation loss of our investments in TeamFresh Corp. Our interest income increased by 8.6%, or ￦24 billion, from ￦280 billion in 2023 to ￦304 billion in 2024 primarily due to an increase in our interest-earning cash and cash equivalents in 2024 compared to 2023. Our interest expenses increased by 5.1%, or ￦18 billion, from ￦356 billion in 2023 to ￦375 billion in 2024 primarily due to general increases in interest rates in Korea and abroad in 2024 compared to 2023. 61 Table of Contents Share of Net Profits (Losses) of Associates and Joint Ventures We recognized net loss of associates and joint ventures of ￦43 billion in 2023 compared to net profit of associates and joint ventures of ￦9 billion in 2024. In 2023, our share of net loss of associates and joint ventures consisted primarily of our share of loss from (i) a real estate investment company invested by KT Estate of ￦25 billion, (ii) IGIS Professional Investors Private Investment Real Estate Investment LLC No. 395 of ￦5 billion and (iii) Megazone Cloud Corporation of ￦5 billion, the impact of which was partially offset by our share of profit from KIF Investment Fund of ￦5 billion. In 2024, our share of net profit of associates and joint ventures consisted primarily of our share of profit from (i) Kbank of ￦44 billion and (ii) KIF Investment Fund of ￦12 billion, the impact of which was significantly offset by our share of loss from other associates and joint ventures of ￦36 billion, partly attributable to KT Investment Co., Ltd. Income Tax Expense Income tax expense decreased by 50.0%, or ￦165 billion, from ￦330 billion in 2023 to ￦165 billion in 2024, as our profit before income tax decreased by 56.1%, or ￦731 billion, from ￦1,303 billion in 2023 to ￦572 billion in 2024. Our effective tax rate was 25.4% in 2023 and 28.8% in 2024. See Note 30 of the notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Profit for the Year Due to the factors described above, our profit for the year decreased by 58.2%, or ￦566 billion, from ￦972 billion in 2023 to ￦407 billion in 2024. Our net profit margin, which is net profit for the year as a percentage of operating revenue, decreased from 3.7% in 2023 to 1.5% in 2024. Segment Results—ICT The following table presents selected income statement data of the ICT segment and changes therein for 2023 and 2024: For the Year EndedDecember 31, Changes 2023 vs. 2024 2023 2024 Amount % (In billions of Won) Operating revenue ₩ 18,699 ₩ 18,929 ₩ 230 1.2 % Operating expenses 17,506 18,496 990 5.7 Operating income 1,193 433 (761) (63.7) Depreciation and amortization (1) 3,183 3,231 47 1.5 _______________________ (1)Sum of the amortization of tangible assets, intangible assets, investment properties and right-of-use assets. The operating revenue for our ICT segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 1.2%, or ￦230 billion, from ￦18,699 billion in 2023 to ￦18,929 billion in 2024, primarily due to increases in revenue from our mobile services, broadband Internet access services and data communication services, which impact was offset by decreases in revenue from our fixed-line and VoIP telephone services, as described above. The operating income for our ICT segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, decreased by 63.7%, or ￦761 billion, from ￦1,193 billion in 2023 to ￦433 billion in 2024, as the ￦990 billion increase in the segment’s operating expenses outpaced the ￦230 billion increase in operating revenue. For this segment, operating margin, which is operating profit as a percentage of total operating revenue prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, decreased from 6.4% in 2023 to 2.3% in 2024. Depreciation and amortization for our ICT segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 1.5%, or ￦47 billion, from ￦3,183 billion in 2023 to ￦3,231 billion in 2024. 62 Table of Contents Segment Results—Finance The following table presents selected income statement data of the finance segment and changes therein for 2023 and 2024: For the YearEndedDecember 31, Changes 2023 vs. 2024 2023 2024 Amount % (In billions of Won) Operating revenue ₩ 3,723 ₩ 3,559 ₩ (165) (4.4) % Operating expenses 3,632 3,415 (216) (6.0) Operating income 92 143 52 56.4 Depreciation and amortization (1) 37 34 (4) (9.5) _______________________ (1)Sum of the amortization of tangible assets, intangible assets, investment properties and right-of-use assets. The operating revenue for our finance segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, decreased by 4.4%, or ￦165 billion, from ￦3,723 billion in 2023 to ￦3,559 billion in 2024 primarily due to a decrease in revenue of BC Card’s value added network business. The operating income for our finance segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 56.4%, or ￦52 billion, from ￦92 billion in 2023 to ￦143 billion in 2024, as the ￦216 billion decrease in the segment’s operating expenses outpaced the ￦165 billion decrease in operating revenue. For this segment, operating margin increased from 2.5% in 2023 to 4.0% in 2024. Depreciation and amortization for our finance segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, decreased by 9.5%, or ￦4 billion, from ￦37 billion in 2023 to ￦34 billion in 2024. Segment Results—Satellite TV The following table presents selected income statement data of the satellite TV segment and changes therein for 2023 and 2024: For the YearEndedDecember 31, Changes 2023 vs. 2024 2023 2024 Amount % (In billions of Won) Operating revenue ₩ 715 ₩ 710 ₩ (5) (0.6) % Operating expenses 785 817 33 4.2 Operating loss (70) (107) (37) 53.1 Depreciation and amortization (1) 53 48 (5) (9.0) _______________________ (1)Sum of the amortization of tangible assets, intangible assets, investment properties and right-of-use assets. Our operating revenue for the satellite TV segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, decreased by 0.6%, or ￦5 billion, from ￦715 billion in 2023 to ￦710 billion in 2024 due to a decrease in consolidated operating revenue of KT Skylife. Our operating loss for the satellite TV segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 53.1%, or ￦37 billion from ￦70 billion in 2023 to ￦107 billion in 2024, as the ￦33 billion increase in the segment’s operating expenses was enhanced by the ￦5 billion decrease in operating revenue. Operating loss margin for this segment increased from 9.8% in 2023 to 15.1% in 2024. 63 Table of Contents Depreciation and amortization for our satellite TV segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, decreased by 9.0%, or ￦5 billion, from ￦53 billion in 2023 to ￦48 billion in 2024. Segment Results—Real Estate The following table presents selected income statement data of the real estate segment and changes therein for 2023 and 2024: For the Year EndedDecember 31, Changes 2023 vs. 2024 2023 2024 Amount % (In billions of Won) Operating revenue ₩ 500 ₩ 547 ₩ 47 9.4 % Operating expenses 427 462 35 8.2 Operating income 73 85 12 16.1 Depreciation and amortization (1) 71 69 (1) (1.8) _______________________ (1)Sum of the amortization of tangible assets, intangible assets, investment properties and right-of-use assets. The operating revenue for our real estate segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 9.4%, or ￦47 billion, from ￦500 billion in 2023 to ￦547 billion in 2024 primarily due to increases in revenues from apartment presales and hotel operations. The operating income for our real estate segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 16.1%, or ￦12 billion, from ￦73 billion in 2023 to ￦85 billion in 2024, as the ￦47 billion increase in the segment’s operating revenue outpaced the ￦35 billion increase in operating expenses. Operating margin for this segment increased from 14.7% in 2023 to 15.6% in 2024. Depreciation and amortization for our real estate segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, decreased by 1.8%, or ￦1 billion, from ￦71 billion in 2023 to ￦69 billion in 2024. Segment Results—Others The following table presents selected income statement data of the others segment and changes therein for 2023 and 2024: For the YearEndedDecember 31, Changes 2023 vs. 2024 2023 2024 Amount % (In billions of Won) Operating revenue ₩ 8,145 ₩ 8,223 ₩ 78 1.0 % Operating expenses 8,048 8,157 110 1.4 Operating income 98 66 (32) (32.8) Depreciation and amortization (1) 585 605 20 3.4 _______________________ (1)Sum of the amortization of tangible assets, intangible assets, investment properties and right-of-use assets. The operating revenue for our others segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 1.0%, or ￦78 billion, from ￦8,145 billion in 2023 to ￦8,223 billion in 2024, primarily due to an increase in revenue from our information technology and network services, particularly from the operation of Internet data centers and systems integration services. The operating income for our others segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, decreased by 32.8%, or ￦32 billion, from ￦98 billion in 2023 to ￦66 billion in 2024, as the ￦110 billion increase 64 Table of Contents in the segment’s operating expenses outpaced the ￦78 billion increase in the segment’s operating revenue. Operating margin for this segment decreased from 1.2% in 2023 to 0.8% in 2024. Depreciation and amortization for this segment, prior to adjusting for inter-segment transactions, increased by 3.4%, or ￦20 billion, from ￦585 billion in 2023 to ￦605 billion in 2024. Item 5.B.  Liquidity and Capital Resources The following table sets forth the summary of our cash flows for the years indicated: For the Years Ended December 31, 2023 2024 2025 (In billions of Won) Net cash inflow from operating activities ₩ 5,503 ₩ 5,066 ₩ 4,942 Net cash outflow from investing activities (4,621) (2,845) (4,518) Net cash outflow from financing activities (453) (1,390) (631) Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year 2,449 2,880 3,717 Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year 2,880 3,717 3,507 Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 430 837 (210) Capital Requirements Historically, our capital requirements consisted principally of purchases of property and equipment and other assets and repayments of borrowings. In our investing activities, we used cash of W3,693 billion in 2023, W2,909 billion in 2024 and W3,597 billion in 2025, for the acquisition of property and equipment and investment properties. In addition, we used cash of W479 billion in 2023, W439 billion in 2024 and W444 billion in 2025 for the acquisition of intangible assets, which consisted primarily of acquisition of bandwidth licenses. In our financing activities, we used cash of W5,275 billion in 2023, W4,733 billion in 2024 and W5,324 billion in 2025, for repayments of borrowings (including debentures). From time to time, we may also require capital for investments involving acquisitions, including shares of our affiliates, and strategic relationships, as well as repurchases of our shares. We used cash of W300 billion in 2023, W27 billion in 2024 and W250 billion in 2025 for the repurchase of our shares. Our cash dividends paid to shareholders and non-controlling interests amounted to W527 billion in 2023, W872 billion in 2024 and W578 billion in 2025. We anticipate that capital expenditures and repayment of outstanding contractual obligations and commitments (including for bandwidth licenses) will represent the most significant use of funds for the next several years. We currently expect our capital expenditures for the acquisition of property and equipment and investment property and acquisition of intangible assets in 2026 to remain at a similar level compared to those in 2025 on a standalone basis. However, the actual amount remains subject to adjustment depending on market conditions, our results of operations and changes in our build-out plan for our telecommunications network and other infrastructure. We may also require capital for purchase of shares of our affiliates as well as investments involving acquisitions and strategic relationships. Payments of contractual obligations and commitments will also require considerable resources. In our ordinary course of business, we routinely enter into commercial commitments for various aspects of our operations, including repair and maintenance. We have also provided guarantees to our affiliates. See Note 20 of the notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for a disclosure of the guarantees provided. Capital Resources We have traditionally met our working capital and other capital requirements principally from cash provided by operations, while raising the remainder of our requirements primarily through debt financing. Our major sources of cash have been net cash provided by operating activities, including profits for the year, and 65 Table of Contents proceeds from issuance of bonds and borrowings. We expect that these sources will continue to be our principal sources of cash in the future. We recorded profits for the year of W972 billion in 2023, W407 billion in 2024 and W1,825 billion in 2025 as discussed in “Item 5.A. Operating Results.” Non-cash expense adjustments in our statement of cash flows from depreciation, amortization of intangible assets and depreciation of right-of-use assets amounted to W3,868 billion in 2023, W3,930 billion in 2024 and W3,937 billion in 2025, primarily reflecting our capital investment activities during the recent years, including our payments on bandwidth licenses for our operations, investments in network infrastructures and acquisition of real estate. We had net proceeds from borrowings and debentures, after adjusting for repayments of borrowings and debentures,of W106 billion in 2023, net repayments of borrowings and debentures, after adjusting for proceeds from borrowings and debentures, of W135 billion in 2024 and net proceeds from borrowings and debentures, after adjusting for repayments of borrowings and debentures, of W426 billion in 2025. Long‑term borrowings, excluding current installments, were W7,160 billion as of December 31, 2023, W6,616 billion as of December 31, 2024 and W8,286 billion as of December 31, 2025. Total short‑term borrowings were W3,059 billion as of December 31, 2023, W3,905 billion as of December 31, 2024 and W2,500 billion as of December 31, 2025. For the maturity profile of our borrowings, their currency denomination and interest rates, see Note 16 of the notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Under our borrowing policy, we continually take into consideration various factors, including financial market conditions and our business environment, in order to decide on specific terms of the borrowing, such as borrowing amount, maturity date, currency denomination and type of interest rate (fixed or floating). We also strive to prudently manage our borrowing level and mitigate our refinancing risks through various methods, including diversification of currency denominations and borrowing lines. Our debt‑to‑equity ratio, which is calculated by dividing total liabilities by total equity, was 131% as of December 31, 2023, 134% as of December 31, 2024 and 122% as of December 31, 2025. We also dispose of a portion of our trade receivables relating to handset sales to several special purpose companies, as part of our efforts to improve our cash and asset management. We entered into asset management agreements with each of these special purpose companies, and will be receiving management fees from such companies. See Note 20 of the notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. From time to time, we also generate cash from the sale of our treasury shares. We believe that we have sufficient working capital available to us for our current requirements and that we have a variety of alternatives available to us to satisfy our financial requirements to the extent that they are not met by funds generated by operations, including the issuance of debt securities and bank borrowings denominated in Won and various foreign currencies. See Note 16 of the notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. However, our ability to rely on some of these alternatives could be affected by factors such as the liquidity of the Korean and the global financial markets, prevailing interest rates, our credit rating and the Government’s policies regarding Won currency and foreign currency borrowings. Other factors which could materially affect our liquidity in the future include unanticipated increase in capital expenditures and decrease in cash provided by operations resulting from a significant decrease in demand for our services. We may also need to raise additional capital sooner than we expect in order to fund unanticipated investments and acquisitions. Our total equity was W18,543 billion as of December 31, 2023, W17,968 billion as of December 31, 2024 and W19,417 billion as of December 31, 2025. 66 Table of Contents Liquidity We had a working capital (current assets minus current liabilities) surplus of W1,347 billion as of December 31, 2023, W340 billion as of December 31, 2024 and W2,231 billion as of December 31, 2025. The following table sets forth the summary of our significant current assets for the years indicated: As of December 31, 2023 2024 2025 (In billions of Won) Cash and cash equivalents ₩ 2,880 ₩ 3,717 ₩ 3,507 Trade and other receivables, net 7,170 6,147 5,845 Inventories, net 988 1,055 505 Other financial assets 1,440 1,344 1,627 Our cash and cash equivalents (substantially all of which are in Won) totaled ￦2,880 billion as of December 31, 2023, ￦3,717 billion as of December 31, 2024 and ￦ 3,507 billion as of December 31, 2025. As of December 31, 2025, we held approximately 96.1% of our cash and cash equivalents denominated in Won and the remainder denominated in foreign currencies. Other current financial assets primarily consist of financial instruments, available-for-sale financial assets and derivative assets used for hedging. For a discussion of our use of financial instruments for hedging purposes, see “Item 11. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk. The following table sets forth the summary of our significant current liabilities for the years indicated: As of December 31, 2023 2024 2025 (In billions of Won) Trade and other payables ₩ 8,055 ₩ 7,395 ₩ 6,869 Borrowings 3,059 3,905 2,500 Substantially all of our revenues are denominated in Won. Depreciation of the Won may materially affect the results of our operations because, among other things, it causes an increase in the amount of Won required by us to make interest and principal payments on our foreign currency-denominated debt, the costs of telecommunications equipment that we purchase from overseas sources, net settlement payments to foreign carriers and certain payments related to our derivative instruments entered into for foreign exchange risk hedging purposes. As of December 31, 2025, we entered into various commitments with financial institutions totaling W3,687 billion, US$1,985 million, and JPY 30,000 million, of which W1,417 billion, US$1,985 million and JPY 30,000 million were used. See Note 20 of the notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Of the W10,786 billion total borrowings (including short-term borrowings) outstanding as of December 31, 2025, W3,233 billion was denominated in foreign currencies. See Note 16 of the notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Upon the identification and evaluation of our currency risk exposures, we, having considered various circumstances, enter into derivative financial instruments to manage such risks. See “Item 11. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk—Exchange Rate Risk and Interest Rate Risk.” We have not had, and do not anticipate that we will have, difficulty gaining access to short-term financing sufficient to meet our current requirements. Item 5.C.  Research and Development, Patents and Licenses, Etc. In order to maintain our leadership in the converging telecommunications business environment and develop additional platforms, services and applications, we engage in research and development (“R&D”) activities together with our various business units and also operate the following R&D laboratories: •Responsible AI Policy and Technology Leadership (“AI Future”) R&D laboratory; •Development of proprietary Large Language Models ("LLMs") & Multi-Modal AI Core Technologies (“Gen AI”) R&D laboratory; 67 Table of Contents •Development of AI Agent Core Technologies and Commercial Agents (“Agentic AI”) R&D laboratory; and •Implementation of Data Science Across KT’s Business and CDO Office (“Decision Intelligence”) R&D laboratory. As of December 31, 2025, KT Corporation had 3,804 domestic and 2,155 international registered patents. The MSIT has the authority to recommend to network service providers that they provide funds for national research and development of telecommunications technology and related projects. Including such contributions, total expenditures (which include capitalized expenses) on research and development were W225 billion in 2023, W212 billion in 2024 and W355 billion in 2025. Item 5.D.  Trend Information These matters are discussed under Item 5.A. above where relevant. Item 5.E.  Critical Accounting Estimates Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by IASB. See Note 3 of the notes to our financial statements for a discussion of our critical accounting estimates. Item 6.  Directors, Senior Management and Employees