Kang I-gu, Kolon Benit CEO: “Transforming business through AX... AI investment results matter”

[Financial News] Corporate competitiveness in artificial intelligence (AI) is shifting beyond technology adoption to the ability to deliver tangible business results. Kolon Benit has emphasized the need for workplace innovation to maximize returns on AI investments and outlined a business strategy to support companies throughout the AI transformation (AX) process.
Speaking at the “Kolon Benit AX Boost Summit 2026,” held at Seoul Dragon City in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the 13th, Kolon Benit CEO Kang I-gu said, “Businesses need to transform through AX,” emphasizing the need for workplace innovation to improve the efficiency of AI investments.
Kang said, “Last year, Kolon Benit was an ‘AX enabler’; this year, we are expanding our role to become a partner that accompanies customers on their AX journeys.” He added, “We will now accompany customers throughout their AX journeys, from identifying their challenges to delivering business results.”
To that end, Kolon Benit plans to leverage its understanding of customers, built up across diverse industries, solutions from global technology companies, and a collaborative ecosystem comprising around 100 participating companies in its AI Alliance. The company aims to connect businesses with AI technologies suited to their work environments and help apply them in day-to-day operations so they deliver results.
Kang stressed that results relative to investment have become more important than AI adoption itself. “There is a lot of concern about how to improve productivity with AI and about ‘AI investment efficiency,’” he said. “It has become more important to determine which agents to use in which areas to help improve a company’s productivity.”
He noted that existing ways of working and organizational operating systems also need to change to increase the impact of AI investments. “We have reached a stage where (work) process innovation is needed,” he said. This means going beyond simply applying AI to existing work and redesigning the work processes themselves.
Jang Jae-yong, head of the DX Division at Kolon Benit, who delivered the keynote address that day, also said, “AI use is already widespread, but few companies are turning it into results.” He added, “To remove the disconnects that stand in the way of results, companies need to redesign their work processes, not their models, and measure the impact of investments before getting started.”
Now in its second year, the event, themed “Customers’ AX Journey,” shared implementation strategies and real-world industry examples of how to turn AI adoption into tangible business results. The venue also featured large themed booths in three areas: data and analytics, AX journeys, and enterprise services.
[email protected] Yeon Ji-an Reporter