Chairman Chey Tae-won: "AI's Upward Development is an Opportunity for All of Us"

AI·SKMS Theme SK Icheon Forum Ends on the 21st

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, is delivering closing remarks at the closing session of the 'Icheon Forum 2024' held on the 21st. Photo by SK

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK, emphasized through his final presentation at the 'Icheon Forum 2024' held on the theme of AI that "all the changes brought by AI are opportunities for us."

At the closing session of the forum held on the 21st, Chairman Choi spoke about the future prospects of the AI market, saying, "What is definitely making money right now is the AI value chain," and added, "Big tech companies are also investing heavily to gain a competitive edge," forecasting that "although there may be some bumps along the way, the AI industry is bound to develop in an upward trajectory."

Choi Tae-won: "Changes through AI are all opportunities... Possibility of energy mix changes including nuclear power"

The closing session of this Icheon Forum was conducted in a way that Chairman Choi communicated in real-time with SK members attending both online and offline. Chairman Choi shared his thoughts on the growth prospects in the AI era and the future business blueprint of SK Group aligned with it.

Chairman Choi said, "If the AI growth trend continues, SK can pursue hardware-related businesses involved in AI data centers and service models such as LLM (Large Language Models)," adding, "There will be difficult parts in the process, but once a business model is established, I believe the overall cycle can operate."

Chairman Choi also shared insights gained from recent meetings with big tech companies leading global AI businesses such as Nvidia, TSMC, OpenAI, Microsoft, Amazon, and Intel, discussing cooperation plans.

He said, "Big tech companies commonly believe that since AI data centers require enormous amounts of energy, nuclear power will need to be used in the future," adding, "If this leads to changes in the energy mix, it will become a new opportunity for us."

Finally, Chairman Choi conveyed the reason for recently emphasizing SKMS (SK Management System) again and urged members to practice SKMS. He said, "SKMS serves as a common intersection for many member companies and members of the group," and added, "Whenever we face times of change, we need to revisit SKMS, reflect on our group's unique DNA, and seek the direction of the path forward."

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is having a Q&A session with members at the closing session of the 'Icheon Forum 2024' held on the 21st. Photo by SK

SK Group Immersed in AI for Three Days... "Concrete Future Direction"

Marking its 8th year, the Icheon Forum was held from the 19th to the 21st at Walkerhill and various affiliates under the theme of 'AI Strategy and SKMS Practice.'

Since AI was the core agenda at this year’s Icheon Forum, the opening day featured online lectures by world-renowned AI gurus, along with employees responsible for AI business at affiliates and leaders from various AI sectors gathering to share insights and wisdom about the future of the AI industry. Global AI experts such as Professor J?rgen Schmidhuber of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, known as the "Father of Modern Artificial Intelligence," Jack Carse, former OpenAI GTM executive, and Jim Snabe, Chairman of Siemens’ Board, also attended to give lectures and engage in discussions about the future shaped by AI and DT (Digital Transformation).

On the 20th, each affiliate held workshops under the theme 'Speak-Out for Practicing SKMS in Daily Life,' exploring ways for members to actively utilize SKMS in their actual work. Members exchanged honest opinions about difficulties and areas for improvement encountered during the SKMS practice process based on their frontline work experiences.

An SK official said, "The Icheon Forum is a knowledge management platform where members and external stakeholders communicate diversely about SK Group’s core management issues to concretize future directions," adding, "We will also reflect the various opinions from members gathered at the Icheon Forum in management activities to lead to practical changes."

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