A clearer view of what matters

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and executives from major affiliates will gather to discuss the group’s business strategy for next year and its medium- to long-term growth direction. According to Green Economy News, the SK Group CEO seminar is scheduled to run for three days from the 12th to the 14th at the SKMS Research Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. Chey, Senior Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won, SK Supex Council Chairman Chey Chang-won, and CEOs and executives from major affiliates are expected to attend.

Can AI Be Turned Into Real Business Results?

One of the main topics at this seminar is how to connect artificial intelligence (AI) to concrete business performance across each affiliate. SK Group has positioned AI as a key growth engine for the future and is reshaping its business structure around AI data centers and AI infrastructure. But simply introducing AI does not guarantee results. According to the report, Chairman Chey emphasized at last year’s seminar that domain expertise — in other words, the specialized knowledge and experience of each business — is crucial to making effective use of AI. The idea is that technology must be linked to real-world problems on the ground and within business operations.

The Results of Portfolio Rebalancing Will Also Come Under Review

Another major agenda item is business portfolio rebalancing. Rebalancing refers to adjusting the mix of businesses a company holds in order to strengthen competitiveness and improve growth potential. SK Group has been restructuring its business portfolio since late 2023 in response to slowing demand for electric vehicles and global economic uncertainty. The report cited the merger of SK Innovation and SK E&S, the integration of SK On with SK Trading International and SK Entum, and SK Inc.’s sale of its stake in SK Siltron as examples. The seminar is expected to discuss the results of these moves and the direction they should take going forward.

The CEO seminar is a place to review the year’s management performance and discuss next year’s strategy and medium- to long-term business direction. It is one of SK Group’s key strategic meetings, and this year the management strategy meeting and the Icheon Forum were integrated into the “New Icheon Forum.” As a result, one of the key points to watch at this meeting will be how AI investment and business restructuring are turned into specific action items that can shape the group’s future strategy. That said, the concrete conclusions on AI performance and rebalancing can only be known once the actual discussions at the meeting are confirmed.