SKE Focuses on Future-Oriented Image

By Kim Hyun-cheol

Staff Reporter

It appears that advertisements from local energy firms are becoming more ``futuristic,'' with concerns focusing on energy resources and technologies on the go. The latest among them belongs to SK Energy's television ad for lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles.

In the campaign, the largest Korean refinery delivers the message that it is bent on developing new energy technologies for the future.

Lithium batteries are regarded as the most critical in a variety of future energy sources SK Energy is working on. Other items include bio energy, hydro power stations and thin-film solar batteries.

In the scenes of the advertisement, the company depicts the significance of the technology by overlapping the images of oil pipes running across the oil fields it is exploring across the globe, followed by the display of a recharging station and a futuristic vehicle driving along a coast.

Along with backdrops of oceans, deserts and jungles, the campaign was intent on delivering the message of its ``look-ahead, push-ahead'' philosophy to its viewers, SK Energy said.

``The campaign aims at enhancing our corporate image as a contributor to the future development of Korea and its society, with our development of a new growth engine based upon cutting-edge technologies,'' a spokesman of the refiner said.

``It also reflects our ultimate goal of expanding into a comprehensive energy group, and grow out of this deeply-rooted image of SK Energy considered merely as a refiner.''

This year, SK Energy looks to reach 41 trillion won ($36.5 billion) in sales and 1.2 trillion won in operating profit, with an overall investment of 1 trillion won.

``Last year was a difficult time for most energy firms as fluctuation was intense in crude oil prices and exchange rates,'' SK Energy CEO Koo Ja-young said of its performance, at an investors relations meeting in January.

``Such hardships are still expected to continue this year as well, but SK Energy is set to go after its targets by developing future growth engines and implementing speedy management strategies throughout our businesses.