SK Group is expected to conduct its regular executive appointments for 2027 as early as the end of this month, with particular attention on whether Chairman Choi Chang-won will be reappointed. Given that significant restructuring (rebalancing) of the group's business structure has already taken place, this round of appointments is anticipated to focus more on evaluating the performance of the existing management rather than a major overhaul.
According to industry sources on the 15th, SK Group is likely to announce its executive appointments next week, ahead of the CEO seminar scheduled for November 12-14. Following last year's changes in leadership at major affiliates such as SK Telecom, SK Square, SK On, and SKC, this year is expected to see minimal changes, concentrating instead on assessing the current management's performance.
The key point of interest is whether Chairman Choi will remain in his position. Since being appointed as the head of SK Supex Council at the end of 2023, he has led the group's business portfolio restructuring and financial improvement efforts.
However, with the rebalancing efforts largely completed, there is speculation about whether Chairman Choi will continue to lead the current structure or return to management at SK Discovery. Given that challenges such as enhancing synergies among affiliates and ensuring financial stability remain, the possibility of maintaining the current structure is also being discussed.
Jang Yong-ho, who currently serves as both CEO of SK Inc. and head of SK Innovation, is likely to resolve his dual roles in this appointment round. There are expectations that the management systems of the holding company and the energy affiliate will be separated to strengthen accountability in each company.
SK Hynix is expected to retain its current management team. CEO Kwon No-jung is anticipated to be promoted to vice chairman, as he has driven performance growth based on the company's competitiveness in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market.
Similarly, SK Telecom is leaning towards retaining CEO Jeong Jae-hun, who took office last year. Following a customer trust recovery effort after a SIM card hacking incident, the company has focused on normalizing its telecommunications business and has shown signs of performance recovery this year. With a recent announcement of a new growth strategy centered on artificial intelligence (AI), it is likely that the company will prioritize enhancing its telecommunications competitiveness and expanding its AI business rather than changing its management.
In the case of SK On, CEO Lee Yong-wook, who transitioned to a sole representative system in May, is expected to continue leading the company. Given the urgent need for profitability improvement amid declining electric vehicle demand, the focus will likely be on expanding the energy storage system (ESS) business and diversifying customer bases rather than making changes to the management team.
An industry insider noted, "Given that there was a significant reshuffle of executives at major affiliates last year, it seems unlikely that there will be extensive changes this year. While Chairman Choi's position is the biggest variable, the overall trend appears to favor stability within the existing management team."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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