Jang Yong-ho SK Corp. and Park Sang-gyu SKI... Supex Chairmen Leading the Committee 'Appointed to Key Positions'

Key Figure in SK's Generational Shift... Leading the Council Since Last Year
Vice Chairman Choi Chang-won to Expand Influence as New Chairman

As the regular personnel reshuffle of SK Group approaches on the 7th, there are expectations that the chairpersons belonging to the 'SK Supex Council (Supex)', which has played the role of the group's 'control tower,' will be appointed to key positions. If Choi Chang-won, vice chairman of SK Discovery and cousin of Chairman Choi Tae-won, becomes the chairman of Supex, the status and influence of Supex are expected to grow even further.

Ahead of the group personnel reshuffle, SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won hinted at a generational change, stating, "We must give opportunities to young managers." On the 4th (local time), at the '2023 Trans-Pacific Dialogue (TPD)' event held at the Salamander Resort near Washington, Virginia, USA, Chairman Choi said, "It is natural that we must give opportunities to new management and young managers," adding, "Change is always happening, so just watch the results once."

The SK Supex Council is the highest consultative body for group management. Supex is an abbreviation of 'Super Excellent Level,' meaning top-tier excellence, coined directly by the late SK Group Chairman Choi Jong-hyun. It signifies the highest level achievable by human capability. The Supex Council enhances the execution power of SK Group's unique 'separately yet together' management style through specialized committees.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The council consists of seven committees in total. These include the Strategy & Global Committee, which discovers and invests in growth opportunities at the group level, as well as the Talent Development Committee, Environmental Business Committee, SV (Social Value) Committee, ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Committee, Communication Committee, and Governance Committee.

Currently, Cho Dae-sik, chairman of Supex, concurrently serves as chairman of the Strategy & Global Committee, while the Governance Committee is chaired by President Yoon Jin-won, a former legal professional. In this personnel reshuffle, Vice Chairman Choi Chang-won is strongly mentioned as the successor to Chairman Cho, who has led Supex for seven years since 2016.

Chairpersons of other committees include Jang Yong-ho, CEO of SK Siltron, for the Environmental Business Committee; Yoo Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom, for the ICT Committee; Park Sang-gyu, CEO of SK Enmove, for the Talent Development Committee; President Lee Hyung-hee for the Communication Committee; and Cho Kyung-mok, CEO of SK Energy, for the SV Committee.

Jang Yong-ho, CEO of SK Siltron

At the end of last year’s personnel reshuffle, SK Group replaced four vice chairman-level chairpersons with president-level chairpersons. There is speculation that in this reshuffle, each committee chairperson will be appointed or reappointed as CEO of major affiliates. This is interpreted as preparation for a generational change within the group.

First, Jang Yong-ho is mentioned as a candidate for CEO of SK Inc. Born in 1964, he graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in economics. He joined Yukong (now SK Innovation) and served as head of the LNG Business Promotion TF, business support officer, and PM2 division head at SK Inc. He established the strategy for entering the semiconductor materials business and led the acquisition of OCI Materials (now SK Materials) in 2015. He became CEO of SK Materials in 2017 and was appointed president of SK Siltron in 2019.

Park Sang-gyu is expected to be appointed CEO of SK Innovation. Born in 1964, he graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in business administration and joined Yukong. Park served as head of Walkerhill Hotel at SK Networks before becoming president, and was appointed president of SK Enmove in 2022. Yoo Young-sang is likely to be reappointed based on SK Telecom’s performance and achievements in artificial intelligence (AI) business.

Lee Hyung-hee, responsible for external cooperation and public relations, concurrently serves as vice chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, so it is known that the possibility of him taking on a new position is low.

Meanwhile, it is reported that four executives?Chairman Cho, SK Inc. Vice Chairman Jang Dong-hyun, SK Innovation Vice Chairman Kim Jun, and SK Hynix Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho?will all retire in this reshuffle. Additionally, Lee Seok-hee, former CEO of SK Hynix, has been appointed CEO of SK On, a secondary battery company, returning to SK after two years. SK On CEO Ji Dong-seop is expected to move to Supex.

Sang-gyu Park, CEO of SK Enmove

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