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| SK Innovation board Chairman Kim Jong-hoon |
By Lee Min-hyung
SK Innovation board Chairman Kim Jong-hoon wants employees to have an "innovative spirit" as a means of tackling the coronavirus-induced business uncertainty here and abroad.
Kim served as an external director before taking on the chairmanship in March 2019. He was a chief negotiator for the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement in 2006.
The message came amid growing market uncertainty in the wake of the worldwide pandemic. With the spread of COVID-19 hurting consumption not just by consumers, but entrepreneurs, South Korean industries here and abroad are bracing for a post-pandemic economic paradigm shift.
"The real face of the post-coronavirus world is yet to be seen," Kim said Thursday in a message posted on the firm's online newsroom. "What I believe with my very modest knowledge of history is: outbreaks bring changes in life, but meeting challenges with new thinking can change our history."
Kim started his career as a diplomat in 1974. He had several posts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including consul general in San Francisco and minister-level chief trade negotiator, while serving as a diplomat there for more than three decades.
After being elected to the 19th National Assembly in 2012, he worked as an expert in trade negotiations for the then ruling Saenuri Party. In 2017, he was appointed an SK Innovation non-executive director after ending his political career.
Kim also urged employees to continue having an "innovative mindset" to overcome the global pandemic shock.
"I know colleagues imbued with innovative thinking keep seeking ways for energy to stand together with the environment and looking for new energies that can replace fossil fuels," he said.
"SK believes that a business, whatever area it may be, flourishes with ideas and that these ideas come from people. Therefore, it is only natural that SK places people of ideas, calling for a deep change at the center of corporate morale."
He predicted the virus-induced shift in consumption patterns would have bigger-than-expected impacts on the global business ecosystem.
"The impacts of the COVIC-19 pandemic on the economy, society and everyone's daily life goes much further beyond the ups and downs we have experienced before," Kim said. "There are predictions about a contactless future, which will inevitably affect the formulation of business models. Possible changes to a future of less mobility and more connectivity are also frequently discussed."
