SK CEO "Answering Market Questions and Delivering Results Is the Core of Management" Summary

Over 20 Affiliate CEOs Attend
Consensus on Responding to Global Environmental Changes

SK Group CEOs have committed to actively responding to questions posed by various stakeholders in the capital market, including shareholders and customers, and to continuously delivering performance that meets market expectations.

SK Seorin Building, the headquarters of SK Innovation located in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

On the 25th, SK Group announced that it held the February regular Supex Council meeting chaired by Choi Chang-won, Chairman of the SK Supex Council, with CEOs of major affiliates in attendance. The meeting reportedly included Jang Yong-ho, President of SK, Park Sang-gyu, CEO of SK Innovation, Kwak No-jung, CEO of SK Hynix, and Yoo Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom.

The Supex Council is the group’s highest consultative body based on a ‘separately yet together’ culture, meeting once a month to discuss various issues within the group and to seek synergy creation.

On this day, SK CEOs agreed on the urgent need for agile responses to the impact of the ‘triple wave’ of changes in the trade environment such as tariffs, inflation, and artificial intelligence (AI), and reached a consensus that enhancing operational improvements to secure fundamental competitiveness should be prioritized.

The CEOs reviewed the progress of the rebalancing efforts undertaken last year. Since last year, SK Group has begun to show signs of performance improvement through operational efficiency following the strengthening of financial and business structures. Accordingly, each affiliate plans to focus more on operational efficiency to innovate their organizational structure and build resilience to preoccupy future markets such as AI.

The CEOs also shared the recent challenging management environment. They noted external concerns related to the group’s key businesses, including the ongoing chasm phenomenon in the electric vehicle battery business and the worsening downturn in the petrochemical industry.

Chairman Choi stated, “In the rapidly changing global situation such as the triple wave, stakeholders are posing various questions to SK,” and emphasized, “It is more important than ever for leaders not to avoid questions but to courageously find solutions and break through.”

Chairman Choi identified continuous innovation in the semiconductor business, overcoming the battery value chain chasm, sustained strengthening of financial soundness, and the return of leaders’ ‘basics and principles’ leadership as the major immediate challenges facing SK Group.

In response, the CEOs agreed on the importance of responsibly addressing the given tasks to meet expectations. They resolved to secure fundamental competitiveness through operational improvements (O/I) again this year in preparation for the future and to accelerate efforts to preoccupy the AI market, a future growth area.

SK Chairman Chey Tae-won emphasized in his January New Year’s address that “fundamental competitiveness means having an essential and sustainable competitive edge that is not shaken by external environments,” and “by swiftly undertaking operational improvements and strengthening management soundness, fundamental competitiveness can be secured.” Regarding this, the CEOs discussed opinions such as “operational improvement is a matter of basics and principles, and cost reduction and strengthening fundamental competitiveness through this are both necessary.”

In his closing remarks, Chairman Choi said, “Leaders must identify the core and essence of the business and strive to find solutions, and now is the time more than ever to be vigilant about ourselves,” adding, “Let us realize performance based on exemplary leadership and the restoration of SKMS (SK Management System, SK Group’s unique management philosophy).”

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