Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
SK chief Chey Tae-won marks 25 years in office with calls for 'deep change'
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won wearing an olive-colored suit coat poses with employees during the group's in-house Icheon Forum at Icheon SKMS Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 24. Courtesy of SK Group
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, marked his 25th anniversary as chief on Sept. 1. The chairman has led the group from being the fifth-largest conglomerate to the second-largest conglomerate. He has emphasized the need for deep change to ensure the group's continued growth, according to industry officials, Friday.
Chey became chairman of SK Inc. on Sept. 1, 1998, at the age of 38, just days after his father and Chairman Chey Jong-hyun passed away on Aug. 26 and the economic crisis doomed many companies here.
At the time of his inauguration, Chey said “If today is the same as yesterday, it means stagnation, and if tomorrow is the same as today, it means regression,” emphasizing a “deep change” strategy that requires the group to pursue constant change to achieve growth.
As a result, SK Group's business portfolio, which was centered on energy and information technology at the time of his inauguration, has expanded to include semiconductors, batteries and biotechnology.
Under his leadership, SK achieved a nearly 10-fold growth in 25 years as the group's revenue rose to 224 trillion won ($170 billion) as of 2022, from 37 trillion won in 1998. The number of affiliated companies grew from 41 in 1998 to 198 in 2022, and the number of employees grew from around 23,000 to more than 125,000 last year.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won delivers a speech at the publication of the biography of the late SK founder Chey Jong-gun at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul hotel, Nov. 10, 2003. Yonhap
Chey has transformed SK Group into one of the pillars of the Korean economy, which relies heavily on exports. In 2022, the group recorded 83 trillion won in exports, about 10 times higher than 8 trillion won in 1998. Given Korea's total export amount was 863.77 trillion won, SK Group's exports accounted for around 10 percent.
At the group's in-house Icheon Forum on Aug. 24, the chairman emphasized the need for group members to pursue deep change, saying that group members must speak out to make a difference.
"Deep change doesn't happen just overnight. Members must continue to speak out and communicate with each other to find a right direction as we are facing unprecedented challenges,” Chey said.
The chairman added that employees actively seeking change will grow as individuals. "The world is changing so fast that the traditional growth formulas are not working anymore, and it is becoming hard to find answers about how to make achievement as an individual,” he said, asking them to become people who make their own growth.
Chey also played a role in the development of the Korean economy. In 2021, he took over as chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the country's leading business lobby group, where he has taken the lead in addressing the needs of Korean companies and helping them grow.
He also serves as the private chairman of the Bid Committee for World Expo 2030 Busan, where he is working to ensure that the port city of Busan becomes a host city of the international event. Despite having an injury to his ankle in June, the chairman traveled overseas on crutches to promote Busan's Expo bid.