 SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, right, also co-CEO of SK-Hynix, pins an SK badge on the lapel of a Hynix employee during the launch event for SK-Hynix in Icheon on the outskirts of Seoul, where the chipmaker’s technology compound is located, Monday. / Courtesy of SK hynix |
Chairman Chey keeps himself in charge despite trial
By Kim Yoo-chul
ICHEON, Gyeonggi Province - SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won Monday said that Hynix is proving to be a winning fit with his conglomerate.
Chey is sanguine not just about Hynix’s direct cooperation with SK Telecom, a leading mobile carrier, but about mutual benefits for the semiconductor maker and the group. SK bought Hynix as a bet for its future growth engine and named it SK hynix.
He said Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was briefed about the details of SK hynix’s advanced chip lines.
“After the briefing, I discussed various pending issues such as the way to provide SK’s car batteries to electric vehicle manufacturers in Thailand. That’s synergy,’’ said Chey, who is also the co-CEO of SK hynix.
SK offered a partnership with state enterprises in Thailand and Malaysia for joint investment in battery production for electric vehicles being manufactured by SK Innovation, which another of the group’s critical affiliates.
``I’m better-positioned than our pre-acquisition era to offer business projects as our brand awareness has increased because of the acquisition of Hynix,’’ he said.
The SK chairman was in Hynix’s technology compound here, on the outskirts of Seoul, to attend a launch event for SK hynix.
The nation’s top mobile operator SK Telecom, completed the acquisition of a 21 percent stake in Hynix for 3.34 trillion won in February and the chipmaker’s shareholders approved the name change.
``This is a historic moment. SK had to forgo earlier plans to enter the memory chip business due to the oil crisis decades ago, but is now more than happy to embrace Hynix as a new family member,’’ said Chey.
The launch event was packed with some 2,000 people including Hynix employees and other government officials as well as Chey and the other SK hynix co-CEO, Kwon Oh-chul.
Kwon said he is set to fully support Chey to make SK hynix a global chip supplier that can guarantee on-time delivery, output commitment and better pricing for overseas clients.
In a statement, SK hynix said it will speed up efforts to shy away from its heavy dependence on volatile and cyclical chips. Rather, the new company will realign its business portfolio capitalizing on profitable and value-added chips such as mobile DRAMs, NAND flashes and other non-memory chips.
Kwon recently said the company is mulling the possibility of building a new NAND flash line in China to meet rising demand from smartphones and tablet computers. Market leader Samsung picked Xian, China as its first NAND flash plant outside Korea.
SK hynix ranks as the world’s second-biggest manufacturer of DRAM memory chips used in conventional electronic items such as PCs, while it is the world’s third-biggest NAND flash chip supplier.
It supplies memory chips to Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Dell and other leading companies. But it has a one-year technology gap in chip manufacturing with leader Samsung Electronics, according to company officials.
SK hynix was established as Hyundai Electronics in 1983 _ it acquired LG Semiconductor in 1999 and changed its name to Hynix Semiconductor in 2001. SK hynix has 23,700 employees worldwide. Last year’s revenue was 10.39 trillion won.
``SK Group’s previous attempts to advance into international markets have failed due to the lack of corporate image. But SK has secured more room to effectively handle overseas businesses because SK bought Hynix’s good brand image. The SK Chairman will use SK hynix as a tool to tap more chances for global businesses,’’ said an unnamed SK hynix executive.
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