KT held an event to collect feedback from foreign customers as part of its efforts to improve services for international residents in Korea.

According to the mobile carrier, 14 customers from Vietnam, Indonesia, Russia, the Philippines, Mongolia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Malaysia attended the event held Wednesday at the Seoul Foreign Resident Center in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul.

The event was part of the company's customer engagement program, with executives meeting directly with consumers to hear their feedback and identify areas for improvement. It marked the fourth session of the program, following events with young customers in April, senior customers in May and residents of remote islands and mountainous regions in June.

During the event, participants shared their experiences and suggestions as foreign residents, including mobile plan subscriptions, customer support and in-store assistance.

A Russian customer said the registration process can be difficult because Russian names often exceed Korean character limits when transliterated. The customer also called for improvements to personal information entry and identity verification procedures for the same reason.

A Filipino customer said in-store support is preferable to phone consultations due to language barriers, and suggested KT expand stores specializing in services for foreign customers. KT currently operates KT Global Stores across the country to provide tailored services for foreign customers.

The event was assisted by KT’s multilingual customer service artificial intelligence, which was introduced on June 15 at KT stores in an industry first. It provides foreign customers visiting stores with information on mobile plans, subscription processes and other benefits in more than 20 languages, including English, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese.

KT said the feedback collected during the event will be reviewed by the relevant business units and reflected in future service improvements.

"It was a meaningful event as we were able to engage with customers from the countries that account for a significant share of KT's foreign customer base," KT Executive Vice President Park Hyun-jin said.

"We will continue to strengthen customer protection so that all customers, including expats, can use our telecommunications services without barriers."