Choi Tae-won: "Value Should Be Enhanced Through Attractive Goals and Concrete Plans, Not Just Financial Performance"

Emphasizing 'Financial Story' at the 2020 CEO Seminar

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Chey Tae-won (photo), chairman of SK Group, emphasized to the presidents of affiliates to enhance corporate value by gaining trust from the market and empathy from society.

At the '2020 CEO Seminar' held on the 23rd at Jeju Dianex, Chairman Chey said, "The traditional method of evaluating corporate value based on past financial performance such as sales and operating profit is no longer valid," adding, "Now, it is an era where a 'financial story' containing attractive goals and concrete execution plans must gain trust from the market to increase corporate value."

About 30 people attended the seminar, including Chairman Chey, SK Vice Chairman Choi Jae-won, SK Discovery Vice Chairman Choi Chang-won, Chairman Cho Dae-sik, chairpersons of seven committees, and CEOs of major affiliates. CEOs of SK Shipping and SK Securities, which separated from SK Group but share the brand and corporate culture and cooperate in management activities, also attended. During the three-day event starting on the 21st, each affiliate CEO discussed ways to enhance execution capabilities.

Chairman Chey emphasized, "As the formula for corporate value is changing, CEOs must specifically present each company's growth story suitable for various stakeholders such as customers, investors, and the market, and draw out trust and empathy," adding, "Furthermore, CEOs themselves must now prove that executing the financial story can lead to greater results."

Each affiliate CEO decided to make next year the first year to increase stakeholders' trust in the financial story presented by their companies. They plan to shift from a growth strategy centered on past financial statements to a growth strategy based on trust and empathy. The financial story emphasized by Chairman Chey is a strategy to comprehensively increase value by presenting SK companies' growth strategies and future visions to customers, investors, and the market.

According to the company, the CEOs attending the event agreed that ESG (environment, social, and governance) has established itself as a universal value rather than a temporary trend and decided to actively promote related activities. Since energy chemistry, along with information and communication technology and semiconductors, is a core growth engine of SK Group, there was consensus on the urgent need for a higher level of ESG management. Due to COVID-19, only top executives gathered in Jeju this year, while related employees participated online.

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