LIVE FROM GSMA MOBILE MONEY SUMMIT 2011: South Korean operator SK Telecom (SKT) has revealed that it plans to open a “NFC Zone” in Seoul with major merchants in the second half of this year as part of the country’s recent effort to support the widespread rollout of NFC technology.

Yu-Shik Kim, head of global partnerships at the carrier, noted the plans as part of his presentation this morning in the ‘Innovation in mPayments: What’s Hot?’ session. Merchants involved in the Seoul zone project include Dunkin’ Donuts, Home Plus, Lotte Mart, GS 25, GS Caltex, and SK Energy. Financial partners include Visa, MasterCard, HyundaiCard and BC Card.

On the 13th June the government of South Korea pushed an initiative to install or upgrade 300,000 payment terminals in stores or transport hubs. The country’s operators (SKT, KT and LG U+)  are all backing the project.