Former Chairman Choi Jong-hyun 23rd Anniversary... SK Group's Quiet Memorial

Chairman Chey Tae-won Attends Icheon Forum Instead of Memorial Ceremony
Pioneer Investing in the Future
Laid Foundations for Energy and Telecom Businesses
Key Executives and Managers
Attend Forum for Four Days Until This Date

Chairman Choi Jong-hyun, who underwent lung cancer surgery (second from the left in the photo), attended the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) chairman meeting in September 1997, just before the IMF bailout, with an oxygen respirator, discussing ways to overcome the economic crisis.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] On the 26th, marking the 23rd anniversary of the passing of the late Choi Jong-hyun, former SK Chairman, the company and its surroundings spent the day quietly commemorating him without any special events. After holding a large-scale event for the 20th anniversary of his passing in 2018, it has been reported that the family has been observing the day modestly since the following year.

Key executives and managers attended the four-day Icheon Forum until this day, listening to lectures and participating in discussions online. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won also planned to attend in person on the final day of the event to share opinions with employees. The Icheon Forum, initiated in 2017 by Chairman Chey Tae-won who proposed the need for a discussion platform to understand technological innovation and socio-economic demands and to cultivate insight for the future, is now in its fifth year.

Choi Jong-hyun succeeded as chairman in 1973 after his elder brother, Choi Jong-gun, the founding chairman of SK Group, passed away. Choi Jong-gun established Seonkyung Textiles in 1953, shortly after the Korean War, and focused on the textile business thereafter. Upon his inauguration, Choi Jong-hyun emphasized growing Seonkyung into a world-class company in the energy and chemical sectors.

Until then, the company mainly dealt with textiles, a byproduct of petroleum, but he believed that vertical integration from crude oil refining to petrochemicals, film, yarn, and textiles was the right direction. Although those around him said it was difficult, Chairman Choi steadily prepared by establishing networks with Middle Eastern royal families and oil sectors. During the first and second oil shocks in the 1970s, he personally secured crude oil supplies, earning recognition for his capabilities. The acquisition of Korea Petroleum Corporation (Yukong) in 1980 marked the beginning of full-scale vertical integration.

Chairman Choi Jong-hyun is presenting scholarship certificates to scholarship students of the Korea Higher Education Foundation in 1986.

Judging information and communication technology as a future growth engine, from the 1980s he monitored industrial trends in the United States and established a local corporation to prepare for the mobile telecommunications business. Thanks to early preparations, SK was selected as the second mobile telecommunications operator in 1992, but after allegations of preferential treatment arose, the company voluntarily relinquished the business license. Chairman Choi comforted employees by saying, "Opportunities always come to companies that are prepared."

Two years later, with the new government, SK participated in the privatization of Korea Mobile Telecommunications and officially entered the mobile telecommunications business. Despite warnings from others when acquiring shares at 335,000 won per share from 80,000 won, Chairman Choi pushed forward, persuading employees that the company could grow further in the future.

While he provided significant direction and leadership in business, he also carefully managed talent development and education. The Korea Higher Education Foundation, established in 1974 with his personal funds, has supported over 3,700 scholarship students to date. It has produced around 800 PhDs from world-renowned universities such as Harvard and Stanford. The foundation did not reveal the company name in its title and provided full support not only for expensive overseas study costs but also for living expenses. There were no burdensome obligations imposed on scholarship recipients. Chairman Chey Tae-won, who took over as the second chairman after his father's passing, also attends the foundation’s events annually to offer encouragement.

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