[THE INVESTOR] LG Uplus’ new CEO Ha Hyun-hoi officially took the helm of Korea’s No. 3 mobile carrier on Aug. 29, vowing to implement change and innovation for the company.

Ha, who formerly served as a vice chairman, was appointed to succeed Vice Chairman Kwon Young-soo last month.

“It is critical to seize the opportunity to predict future trends while thinking outside the box and not follow the norms of traditional mobile carriers,” Ha told reporters after the board of directors meeting. “LG Uplus will strive to innovate and do things differently.”

The new chief also said the company will make the utmost efforts to commercialize high-end 5G networks next March for the first time in the world.

“A 5G era is a big challenge but also an opportunity for us and sets us up to be more competitive going forward,” Ha said.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)