Samsung Electronics and SK Telecom have built what they describe as Korea's first private 5G smart office in the financial sector, deploying the network at Hana Financial Group's offices in Seoul.

The three companies partnered on the deployment, which uses SK Telecom's licensed 3.5GHz spectrum and 5G core infrastructure combined with Samsung's networking equipment and end devices. The project targets indoor coverage and workplace applications that the operators say conventional office connectivity cannot handle reliably.

The smart office builds on Samsung's existing 5G radio and device portfolio in the Korean market, where the vendor supplies equipment to all three national mobile operators. SK Telecom, Korea's largest operator by subscribers, has positioned private 5G for enterprises as a growth area as consumer mobile revenue growth slows. Hana Financial Group, one of the country's largest financial holding companies, acts as the anchor tenant and testbed for financial-sector use cases.

Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT introduced dedicated regulations allowing enterprises to build private 5G networks using either their own assigned spectrum or operator-hosted arrangements, and the financial sector has been viewed as a candidate for early adoption because of its requirements for security, low latency and dense indoor device connectivity.

Samsung said the deployment demonstrates how private 5G can support smart office functions such as secure internal communications, connected workplace devices and services that depend on consistent indoor throughput. The company frames the project as a reference case for other financial institutions considering dedicated 5G networks.

As with any vendor-announced first, commercial substance matters more than the label. The partners have not disclosed the number of base stations deployed, the investment value of the project, or specific subscriber and throughput figures. The announcement's weight rests on the identity of the participants — a tier-one operator, a major network vendor and a top-tier financial group — rather than on disclosed deployment metrics.

For Samsung, the deal extends its private 5G push beyond its home-carrier relationships into enterprise verticals. For SK Telecom, financial services is a vertical where it can differentiate against fixed-line enterprise connectivity with licensed-spectrum mobility and network slicing. For Hana Financial Group, the project offers a path to reducing dependence on office Wi-Fi for internal services that carry sensitive data.

The three companies say they will expand the scope of the smart office, with further financial-sector applications under discussion. No timeline for expansion or broader rollout has been announced.