LIVE FROM GSMA MOBILE ASIA CONGRESS 2011: Jinwoo So, president and CEO of SK Planet, talked up the company’s app store strategy, claiming that it has created the world’s third largest app store in revenue terms, behind Apple’s App Store and Android Market.

According to the executive, the company has 190,000 content items available, with 10 million-plus users and 500 million-plus downloads having already taken place.

SK’s T-Store, which was initially introduced to serve the operator’s own Android customer base, was created because Google’s Android Market was “not prepared to meet local needs for SK Telecom.” However, under the stewardship of SK Planet, the company’s services arm, it has moved to become a “more open platform,” open to other operators – including competitors of SK’s network business.

The company has followed an aggressive path in launching the store internationally, including a previously announced deal with China Mobile. It has also added HTML5 apps to its roster, as part of a plan to become a multi-OS store.