Choi Tae-won: "The Board Should Support the CEO's Balanced Decision-Making"

SK Outside Directors Invited to 'Directors Summit'
Strengthening Oversight and Supervisory Functions over Management

SK Group is strengthening the board of directors' active checks and supervisory functions over the management of its affiliates.

On the 1st, SK Group announced that on the 31st of last month, it held the 'SK Directors Summit 2023' under the theme of 'Insights for SK Growth' at the Walkerhill Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, with outside directors from 14 affiliates in attendance, reaching this consensus.

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group (left) is speaking at the panel discussion session of the 'SK Directors Summit 2023' held at Walkerhill Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on the 31st of last month. (Photo by SK Group)

SK outside directors decided to establish a system where the audit committee under the board of directors directly supervises the company's internal audit organization to manage management risks both proactively and retrospectively, in order to expand the board's check and supervisory functions over affiliate management.

They will also create a decision-making system that allows executives and members to make specific investment and management-related decisions in accordance with policies and regulations established by the board of directors.

The outside directors plan to expand stakeholder-centered management by strengthening communication with the market. They discussed specific implementation plans to enhance communication with shareholders and investors, as well as ways to strengthen board-centered management to increase shareholder value.

Subsequently, the outside directors reviewed the global market outlook and affiliate strategies in key SK businesses such as electric vehicle batteries and artificial intelligence (AI), and discussed the board's role in strategy and investment, as well as the direction for board composition to support SK's growth.

Choi Tae-won (tenth from the right in the front row), Chairman of SK Group, is taking a commemorative photo with outside directors at the 'SK Directors Summit 2023' held on the 31st of last month at Walkerhill Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. (Photo by SK Group)

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won personally participated in a panel discussion with the outside directors on the day, offering his views on the role and direction of the board of directors.

Chairman Chey said, "The board of directors must continuously review the decision-making processes across all management activities and actively provide feedback so that the CEO can make balanced and optimal decisions," adding, "By making efforts to activate communication with executives and members, the board can effectively resolve company issues and inconveniences and efficiently drive development."

SK Senior Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won urged, "I ask the outside directors not only to check and supervise management but also to understand the group’s major businesses from a broader perspective and actively express their opinions to assist the management."

Meanwhile, following Chairman Chey’s will, SK Group declared the promotion of a 'Governance Story' in 2021 to strengthen board-centered management, and since last year has held the Directors Summit as a core meeting body. Starting this year, the Directors Summit has been elevated and regularized as a major group strategy meeting alongside the Expanded Management Meeting, Icheon Forum, and CEO Seminar.

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