SK Group exports to reach $81.4 bil. this year

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won speaks during the SK AI Summit at Coex in southern Seoul, Nov. 3. Courtesy of SK Group

SK companies’ combined exports are projected to reach a record high of 120 trillion won ($81.4 billion) this year on the back of exponential growth in SK hynix’s semiconductor shipments, Korea’s second-largest conglomerate said Tuesday.

According to SK Group, the accumulated exports of all affiliates in the first three quarters of this year stood at 87.8 trillion won, up 19 percent from 73.7 trillion won a year earlier.

If the current rate of growth continues through the fourth quarter, the group expects its exports will reach the 120 trillion won range by the end of this year, surpassing last year’s 102.5 trillion won.

Much of the growth was fueled by high-value memory chips, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM). SK hynix’s exports reached 56.7 trillion won in the January-September period, accounting for 65 percent of the group’s total, up from 54 percent a year earlier.

SK Group said the company was a key contributor to Korea’s total exports reaching a milestone. The country's total exports in the third quarter reached $185 billion, the highest since 2010. HBM and other high-value memory semiconductors led the growth with $46.6 billion in exports.

The group noted that SK hynix’s growth is also creating a ripple effect across the national economy, contributing to increased tax payments and improvements in stock prices, playing the role of a national growth engine

SK hynix paid 4.3 trillion won in corporate taxes in the first three quarters of this year, 45 times higher than the 94 billion won it paid during the same period last year. The company’s stock price has been trending steadily upward, with its market capitalization reaching 379 trillion won as of Monday, the second-largest among Korean companies.

SK Group said Chairman Chey Tae-won’s efforts to improve the conglomerate’s business portfolio, financial structure and governance have played a pivotal role in its recent growth. In particular, the shift from an energy- and ICT-centered structure to a focus on semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) played a decisive role.

“SK Group has been making its contributions to the national economy by expanding investment and employment in future growth sectors including AI, semiconductors, energy and biopharmaceuticals,” a company official said. “The group plans to invest 128 trillion won by 2028 and maintain its employment policy of hiring more than 8,000 job seekers every year.”