SK chief urges solidarity to tackle geopolitical challenges

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won delivers his keynote speech during the Beijing Forum 2019 at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Friday. / Courtesy of SK Group

By Kwak Yeon-soo

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won used the Beijing Forum 2019 to call for global solidarity to tackle major geopolitical challenges, the company said Sunday.

Under the topic "The Harmony of Civilizations and Prosperity for All," the Beijing Forum 2019 was attended by world-renowned scholars, political figures and corporate leaders. They included Yale University Prof. Wendell Wallach, former Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas and Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

During his keynote speech, Chey said deepening changes, in addition to poverty, terrorism and environmental degradation, have brought more uncertainties to the world.

"The ongoing U.S.-China trade war and other geopolitical issues have created an unprecedented risk for the global economy," he said. "Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning are also raising new concerns."

Chey called for global solidarity and bold technological innovation to tackle the challenges in an effective, sustainable way.

As part of the solution, he raised the importance of pursuing social values.

"In 2018, SK generated $15 billion in social contributions while it recorded $28 billion in economic contributions," Chey said. "This is equivalent to creating 53 cents of social value per dollar.

"Although the measurement is still incomplete, we will continue to make improvements and record positive social value in business performance."

The SK chief has emphasized corporate social values at events at home and abroad.

In August, SK joined with German chemical company BASF SE to establish the Value Balancing Alliance (VBA), a non-profit organization to jointly develop tools to measure social value by 2022.

The company is also working on measures to do this with China's state asset management committee.

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