LGU+ CEO Hong Beom-sik: "The evolved 'ixi-O' will be central to future communication" [MWC 2026]

In Barcelona, Spain, on the 2nd (local time), LG Uplus CEO Hong Beom-sik declared that the company will open a new future for voice communication through its AI call agent, the ixi-O AI Assistant. Hong said, "An evolved voice agent that understands me more deeply than anyone else and even takes responsibility for my everyday safety will become the core of future communication," adding, "We will make sure that voice connects seamlessly with our daily lives and creates more human experiences."
Hong made these remarks during his opening keynote at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2026, the world’s largest telecom exhibition held in Barcelona, Spain, where he spoke on the theme of "people-centered AI." He is the first executive from LG Uplus, and indeed from LG Group as a whole, to take the stage as an MWC keynote speaker.
Hong shared a recent personal experience in which he received a phone call from his son living overseas, telling him that he had become a grandfather. He highlighted the power of voice to share overwhelming emotions in a way that text messages or emails simply cannot.
“Despite countless technological innovations, the calling experience has remained almost unchanged, and at some point making a phone call even started to feel inconvenient,” Hong noted. “We have embarked on a journey with our AI call agent to once again make voice a fundamental means of connecting people,” he explained.
Hong went on to outline the safety features of the ixi-O AI Assistant, such as detecting suspicious signals like spam in advance and identifying Voice phishing (vishing) based on the context of a call. He also introduced convenience features that allow users to summon AI during a call to search for information they are curious about.
To ensure secure management of customer data, Hong said LG Uplus is strengthening ixi-O’s on-device capabilities based on the EXAONE large language model family, LG Group’s Large Language Model (LLM). According to Hong, enhanced call experiences through ixi-O have led to an increase in the company’s Net Promoter Score (NPS), while customer churn among ixi-O users has dropped significantly.
He also presented a future vision for the ixi-O AI Assistant that goes beyond acting as a simple AI assistant that executes commands. In this vision, ixi-O understands the flow of conversation and proactively identifies tasks it should handle on the user’s behalf.
Hong played a video telling the story of a family longing for the taste of a dish their mother used to cook, and how they use the ixi-O AI Assistant to search for "Mom’s secret recipe for that special flavor." With the help of ixi-O’s AI technology, they try to uncover the secret behind the recipe, but what ultimately completes the taste is the reunion and reconnection of family members who had been living apart. The video was designed to embody LG Uplus’s philosophy of people-centered AI.
“In an era where countless devices emerge, from wearable device such as smart glasses to AI agent and even Physical AI, voice will sit at the center as the primary interface,” Hong predicted.
He also underscored the need for collaboration with global telecommunications service provider to realize this vision.
“ixi-O is becoming a flagship example of the popularization of AI in Korea and is laying the groundwork for growth, but the journey to evolve it into a general-purpose AI assistant cannot be completed by LG Uplus alone,” he said. “What we aim to create is a new standard for voice calls and an AI that works for everyone.”
Hong added, “If the telecommunications service provider gathered here today continue to work together, I believe telecom operators can become global AI leaders in delivering better customer experiences in voice communication,” and continued, “If you share the future that LG Uplus envisions, please feel free to reach out to us at any time.”

mkchang@fnnews.com Reporter Jang Min-kwon Reporter