Choi Tae-won: "'Iuwijik Ihwanwiri'... Turning Crisis into a Greater Leap Forward"

SK Group 'CEO Seminar' Concludes on 21st
Three Days of Intensive Discussions on Survival and Growth Strategies

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, is delivering the closing speech at the '2022 CEO Seminar' held at the Jeju Dianex Hotel on the 21st. Photo by SK

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] "Although the management environment is challenging, let us prepare for a greater leap forward after the crisis by finding new solutions through business transformation."

According to SK Group on the 23rd, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said this during the closing speech of the ‘2022 CEO Seminar’ held on the 21st in Jeju Island, quoting ‘Iuyu-wijik (以迂爲直) Ihwan-wiri (以患爲利).’ This phrase from Sun Tzu's Art of War means securing a favorable position by finding a different path and turning hardships into opportunities.

The CEO Seminar is an annual SK Group management strategy meeting. This year, it was held for three days from the 19th to the 21st at the Jeju Dianex Hotel. About 30 CEOs and executives from affiliated companies, including Chairman Chey, SK Senior Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won, SK Discovery Vice Chairman Chey Chang-won, and Chairman Cho Dae-sik, attended the seminar.

Chairman Chey ordered each affiliate to prepare strategies based on various scenarios by the end of the year to respond to escalating crises. He said, "We must keep in mind the possibility of additional macro-environmental risk factors such as geopolitical tensions," and added, "We need to internalize ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management elements into our business to secure sustainable growth and explore ways to increase corporate value."

Chairman Chey also emphasized the role of each company's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in handling data. He said, "As uncertainty in the management environment grows, executing data-driven management strategies will become increasingly important."

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, is attentively listening to a presentation on management system innovation at the '2022 CEO Seminar' held at Jeju Dianex on the 20th. Photo by SK

At this seminar, CEOs reviewed geopolitical crises such as the Ukraine war and macroeconomic indicators including inflation, interest rates, and exchange rates with external experts, discussing their impact on domestic and international economies and countermeasures.

They agreed, "We are facing a more severe management environment than ever due to complex crises such as the pandemic shock, geopolitical issues, climate change, and inflation," and "To survive and grow, we must accelerate the establishment of ‘Management System 2.0’ and the reconstruction of the financial story that we have been pursuing."

‘Management System 2.0’ is a concept proposed by Chairman Chey Tae-won at the expanded management meeting in June, aiming to innovate the existing management system to maximize corporate value composed of various elements such as economic value including financial performance, social value, tangible and intangible assets, and customer value.

Earlier, Chairman Cho emphasized in his opening speech on the 19th, "To increase corporate value, we must deliver results based on global top-tier competitiveness and expand future growth areas through portfolio upgrades."

Chairman Cho also stated, "Only companies equipped with an 'economic moat (haeja, 垓子)' that makes it difficult for competitors to enter can maintain a dominant position for a long time and secure high profits," urging, "Each company should supplement its financial story to create an 'economic moat' as soon as possible to enhance corporate value."

The CEOs also discussed ▲ upgrading SKMS (the group’s unique management philosophy and methodology) linked to the establishment of Management System 2.0 ▲ strengthening the role and capabilities of the board of directors for governance innovation ▲ and plans to achieve RE100 by 2030.

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