[THE INVESTOR] KT said on Oct. 28 it will announce its fifth-generation (5G) network equipment supplier as early as this week.

"We will make the announcement soon. It is possible to be delivered within a week," said KT Chairman Hwang Chang-gyu during his meeting with reporters in Boston. Hwang added South Korea's No. 2 mobile carrier also reviewed equipment from China's Huawei Technologies Co. amid a controversy over their security.

LG Uplus Corp. earlier announced that South Korea's No. 3 mobile carrier will adopt Huawei's equipment for its 5G services.

Hwang said the decision will be made based on the strict standards set by the company and the government. KT said it plans to start the 5G network services in March 2019 as scheduled.

The chairman said the 5G network has more to offer compared with previous technologies and claimed KT will start to unveil them one by one this year.

"KT is the company that has been leading the 5G business. It will make necessary investments," Hwang said. "The company stands out from rivals as it has the technology to invest much more efficiently."

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