Choi Tae-won: "Icheon Forum is the North Star Pointing the Direction of Change"

Icheon Forum 2020 Main Forum Opens Today
This Year Conducted in a 'Debate' Format

Asia Economy reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won urged continuous growth by using the Icheon Forum, which opens on the 18th, as a stepping stone for change. SK Group plans to overcome the management crisis caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and prepare post-corona strategies through the Icheon Forum, a place to share new trends and explore future business directions.

In a post on the company intranet Toktok on the same day, Chairman Chey said, "In a time when change itself is everyday life, we must use the Icheon Forum as a reference book to taste our future and grow."

This year’s Icheon Forum was held in the form of discussions among SK members on the 'Deep Change' (fundamental innovation) plan emphasized by Chairman Chey amid increasingly uncertain social and economic changes following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Chairman Chey emphasized, "Above all, each of our members should take this Icheon Forum as an opportunity to explore and research with their own expertise and perspectives to move forward," adding, "Companies should establish and support systems like the Icheon Forum so that talents can study and grow on their own."

He continued, "The reason I created fun scenes and cooked ramen with young members before the start of the Icheon Forum was to say that the Icheon Forum is indeed our future and the North Star pointing to the direction of change," and said, "Let us make the Icheon Forum starting today a precious milestone on the long road we will walk together."

Chairman Chey also said, "I have heard many members say it was difficult to participate in the forum due to daily work," and urged, "Please consider the Icheon Forum as the top priority for all work during the three days starting today."

Marking its fourth year, the Icheon Forum will be held for three days from today until the 20th at the Icheon SKMS Research Institute, covering five themes: environment, innovation in working methods, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation (DT), happiness map, and social value management account (SV Account). The forum will proceed with lectures by domestic and international scholars and expert panel discussions. Considering social distancing due to COVID-19, the panel discussions will be broadcast online, and lectures by overseas scholars will also be conducted online.

Industry insiders expect SK to begin contemplating new growth engines beyond bio at this Icheon Forum. Knowledge sharing through lectures by overseas scholars is also attracting industry attention. On the first day of the forum, Professor Nassim Taleb, author of "The Black Swan," and Chris Anderson, CEO of 3D Robotics and proposer of the "Long Tail Theory," gave lectures on "The Course of Innovation After COVID-19." On the 19th, lectures are scheduled by Jeff Dyer, co-author of "The Innovator's DNA" and professor at Brigham Young University, and Nathan Furr, professor at INSEAD in France. On the 20th, Tal Ben-Shahar, a happiness consultant famous in the U.S., is scheduled to give a lecture.

Earlier, Chairman Chey said on the company broadcast, "You need to understand how the world moves to know what will happen next year," adding, "Since discussions at the Icheon Forum are linked to CEO seminars and next year’s plans, members also need to think and ponder on their own."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.