SK Chairman Chey stresses need to create social values
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won delivers a speech during a session of the Boao Forum for Asia held in Hainan, China, Monday. / Courtesy of SK Group
By Jun Ji-hye
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won stressed Monday the need for companies to create more social value as a core part of their growth strategy in the rapidly changing market environment.
Chey made the remarks during a session of the Boao Forum for Asia, known as Asia's Davos Forum, which began on Sunday in Hainan, China, and will run until Friday.
The Boao Forum, held every April, aims to expand cooperation among countries and businesses in Asia.
Chey delivered a speech, “A new mandate for business in a time of transformation,” during the session in which about 100 global leaders participated.
“Enterprises can achieve stable growth in the rapidly changing business environment when they create not only economic value for shareholders and customers but also create social value for various interest groups including civic groups, the general public and the government,” he said.
He stressed creating social values is not a zero-sum game, but an innovative management strategy that will help various market players grow together and create new markets.
“For about a decade, I have thought about the need to change activities related to social contributions,” he said, introducing some cases in which SK grafted relevant activities onto its management system after paying attention to social values as a management strategy for sustainable growth.
Chey suggested a shared infrastructure enabling a firm to utilize its visible and invisible assets to create social value and an enterprise ecosystem in which a firm cooperates with relevant experts.
Participants of the regional forum expressed their sympathy with Chey's view, according to SK.
They said that Chey's management system simultaneously seeking economic and social values would lead to actual achievement and could become an innovative method for the future. They also said Chey's proposal had implications for national economic policy.
Boston Consulting Group Chairman Hans-Paul Burkner said companies considering socio-economically weak parties and carrying out activities to protect the environment have seen improvement in enterprise value and enjoyed a higher margin rate, according to SK.
Justin Yifu Lin, Chinese economist and professor of Beijing University, also said a business system stressing the creation of social value deserved to become a helpful reference for China when the country sets priorities in its economy policies, SK added.
Regarding such warm responses, Chey said he has given strong conviction that SK Group is going forward.
“SK Group will consistently make efforts to create social values in China as well as in the global market,” he said. “I hope many companies around the world will join hands with us in our attempts and adventure.”