Alternative Food Enthusiast Choi Tae-won: "I Am an Eco-Friendly Chef... Seeking Cooking Methods to Save the Earth"

SK Event Expands SOVAC
Co-hosted SV Summit with Korea Chamber of Commerce
Realizing Social Value through Action

"As an eco-friendly chef, I will strive to discover ingredients and recipes that save the Earth for a sustainable future."

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, held up a placard with this phrase at the first 'Social Value (SV) Leaders Summit' held on the 15th at the Walkerhill Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. The SV Leaders Summit was the first event jointly hosted by SK Group and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Entrepreneurs Roundtable (ERT). It was held alongside SK's 'Social Value Connect (SOVAC),' the largest SV event in Korea. SOVAC is a private festival related to social value initiated by SK Group in 2019 at Chairman Choi's suggestion.

On the 15th, at the Walkerhill Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (center) and participants held up challenge phrases expressing their commitment to a sustainable future at the 'SV Leaders Summit.'
[Photo by SK Group]

In his keynote speech, Chairman Choi emphasized the core values of SOVAC: 'connection' and 'collaboration.' He said, "Solving complex social issues in modern society such as the climate crisis, social safety nets, youth problems, and low birth rates is only possible when the government, local governments, and private companies across sectors work together integratively."

He continued, "If an ecosystem environment is created where social enterprises, social ventures, and non-profit organizations?who are problem solvers of social issues?can grow well, the speed and scale of solving social problems can become faster and larger."

SK Food Truck Visited by Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group
Photo by SK Group

He stated, "The government and local governments should provide solutions to promote the founding and growth of social ventures and social enterprises; companies should actively seek ways to create synergy with social ventures and social enterprises; and social ventures and social enterprises should actively explore ways to enhance their own competitiveness. All of these parties must pursue connection and collaboration on a greater scale for sustainable growth and society to be possible." Chairman Choi also introduced ongoing initiatives such as the 'Sharing Together Project' led by the Chamber's ERT and affiliated companies, and the Chamber's solution platform WAVE.

At the summit, Chairman Choi, who calls himself an 'eco-friendly chef,' has shown interest in alternative meats and other alternative foods. Alternative meat is considered one of the options to reduce greenhouse gases generated by the livestock industry. In line with Chairman Choi's will, SK Group has invested about 200 billion KRW over four years in alternative food venture companies such as the U.S. food tech company Perfect Day and the U.S. cell-cultured salmon producer Wildtype. Chairman Choi also personally promotes alternative foods. In January, he attended CES 2023, the world's largest electronics and information technology (IT) exhibition, where he was surrounded by reporters and ate alternative milk protein ice cream made by SK㈜ partner Perfect Day. He said, "It tastes good," and asked, "Isn't it imported to our country?" Last year, he introduced cell-cultured salmon dishes made by U.S. company Wildtype on his Instagram.

About 130 leaders from various sectors including local governments, government, private companies, social enterprises, social ventures, and academia attended the event. Leaders such as Lee Dal-hee, Deputy Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do; Kim Myung-gyu, Deputy Governor of Chungcheongbuk-do; Park Nam-seo, Mayor of Yeongju City; Yeom Jae-ho, President of Taegye University; and Lee Soo-in, CEO of Enuma, participated.

Panel discussion participants said that policy design necessary for the growth of social enterprises and solving social problems should be undertaken. CEO Lee said, "It would be good if the government and local governments could consider policies and social incentives more." Lim Jung-wook, Director of Startup Venture Innovation at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, responded, "We plan to actively support the global expansion of social ventures." Mayor Park said, "There should be more cases where local governments and young social enterprise entrepreneurs collaborate to revitalize local city economies while solving social problems."

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