[Running Toward the Future of Business①] 'Energy, Electric Vehicles, Bio'... SK Accelerates Business Restructuring

SK Corp. Changes to Holding Company Structure Without 'Holdings'
Investments Reach 2.6 Trillion KRW This Year
Focus on Four Core Areas: Green, Advanced Materials, Bio, and Digital
Largest Investment of 1.8 Trillion KRW in Eco-Friendly Energy... Followed by Electric Vehicle Sector
Bayting SK Tower and China Rent-a-Car Business Streamlined

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The infectious disease risks, which were expected to subside, show no end in sight. The United States and China, our top two trading partners, are always ready to fight for technological supremacy. From a business management perspective, the unresolved uncertainty makes it extremely difficult to foresee even a step ahead, creating the worst possible situation. The intricate global supply chains that supported our economy have often come to a halt due to unforeseen events. As one conglomerate chairman put it, climate change risk tightens its grip on us more strongly than any other risk factor. This is because we must completely overhaul the carbon-based power systems built over more than a century. As the industrial paradigm shifts, our companies’ responses inevitably become more agile. Survival, not just falling behind in competition, is at stake. We examined the status of major companies that have completely reorganized their internal structures over five installments.

SK Group’s holding company, SK Inc., changed its English name from Holdings to Inc. in March this year. Although it is a holding company engaged in investment business, the change was made to emphasize its specialization in investment rather than merely holding stakes in affiliates. After dividing its investment areas into four core sectors?green, advanced materials, bio, and digital?it recently reorganized its structure to establish separate tech and global teams within the advanced materials and digital investment centers. This reflects the intention to enhance technological synergy in each investment area and to more closely monitor investment opportunities scattered around the world.

SK has delivered solid results this year by streamlining non-core businesses and expanding investments in core sectors. The amount invested in the four core businesses this year alone reached at least 2.6 trillion KRW. Including undisclosed investments, the total investment scale is expected to approach 3 trillion KRW. By sector, bio led with five deals, followed by electric vehicles (4 deals), alternative foods (4 deals), eco-friendly energy (3 deals), and semiconductors (1 deal), totaling 17 deals. Investment amounts were dominated by eco-friendly energy (1.86 trillion KRW), followed by electric vehicle-related investments (750 billion KRW).

The electric vehicle sector investments made by SK Inc. this year cover a wide range from materials to EV infrastructure. A representative example is Signet EV, an electric vehicle charger manufacturer whose management rights were acquired in April. It is one of the few companies manufacturing ultra-fast EV chargers, holding more than half of the U.S. market share. Around the same time, SK invested 68 billion KRW in the European electric vehicle brand Polestar and established a $300 million (approximately 350 billion KRW) fund with China’s Geely Automobile Group to invest in global innovative mobility companies. SK also made an additional 40 billion KRW investment in SolidEnergy Systems (SES), a lithium metal battery developer, becoming its third-largest shareholder. Lithium metal batteries use metal instead of graphite, the main anode material, making it a next-generation material with fierce technological competition. Battery development, identified as a future growth engine at the group level, is being pursued by affiliates such as SK On, and synergies are expected in the future. Earlier this month, SK invested 60 billion KRW in Fulcrum, a U.S. aviation biofuel manufacturer. Fulcrum produces fuels like diesel from waste, and SK invested based on Fulcrum’s technological capabilities and the growth potential of the eco-friendly energy market.

SK’s active entry into new businesses is due to the recognition that the growth potential of its existing core portfolio centered on refining and petrochemicals has reached its limit and is unsustainable. The company plans to lead infrastructure development by broadly exploring various new businesses and directly engaging in them. A business community official commented, "SK Inc. was the first among large corporations to transition to an investment-type holding company, has many investment personnel, and a long investment track record. It is ahead in that it can reinvest investment returns into areas that can create synergy with affiliate businesses through a private equity (PE) model."

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