Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, has called for the establishment of a virtuous cycle where growth in artificial intelligence (AI) drives further growth across various businesses. His plan includes expanding operations beyond existing AI semiconductors, infrastructure, and energy into service sectors while restructuring the portfolio to enhance the group's competitiveness.
SK Group announced that Chey Tae-won, along with Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won, Chairman of SK Supex Council Chey Chang-won, and over 50 CEOs from major affiliates, participated in the '2026 CEO Seminar' held from November 12 to 14 at the SKMS Research Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, to discuss future growth strategies.
During the seminar, the 'AI Flywheel' strategy, which promotes growth in one business area to stimulate growth in others, was a key topic. Executives discussed ways to discover new business opportunities based on existing core sectors of AI semiconductors, infrastructure, and energy, thereby establishing a virtuous cycle of growth.
The AI Flywheel concept suggests that growth in one area leads to growth in another. For instance, the competitiveness of AI semiconductors can enhance the AI factory business, which in turn creates demand for energy and AI services. The supply of energy and the expansion of AI services can further stimulate innovation in AI factories and advanced semiconductor technologies, generating new business opportunities.
Through this strategy, SK Group plans to broaden its business scope to include services such as AI models and applications. Ultimately, the goal is to establish a significant presence in the 'token economy' market, where AI computation and services are traded as core resources.
Chey emphasized the need to break away from traditional business frameworks and redefine themselves as 'AI companies.' He urged all member companies to seek new roles and connect AI services with the token economy through the 'AI Flywheel' structure.
He also noted, 'In the AI era, we cannot do everything alone,' stressing the importance of open collaboration with global partners to enhance capabilities and speed.
On the final day of the seminar, November 14, Chey led a deep discussion with executives on future growth strategies. They moved away from merely reporting individual affiliate positions to exchanging ideas on each other's businesses from an external perspective, examining new challenges and potential risks.
To support the AI Flywheel strategy, SK Group will pursue changes in its business portfolio. Executives have committed to continuing 'Portfolio Rebalancing 2.0,' focusing on streamlining inefficient businesses and strengthening core operations.
Additionally, they plan to apply capital allocation criteria based on cash generation to balance financial soundness with future investments. This strategy aims to enhance the competitiveness of existing businesses while laying the groundwork for investments in new growth areas centered around AI.
The group will also expand its field-oriented AI transition (AX) across all sectors. By combining industry expertise with data through 'practical AX,' they aim to boost productivity and generate new revenue streams.
SK Hynix is enhancing production efficiency through the advancement of 'smart fabs' that integrate AI and digital twins. SK Innovation has improved yield at its Ulsan CLX facility by utilizing 'process maps' that connect equipment and operational data.
SK Telecom is enhancing work productivity and customer experience through AI-based network and service automation, while SK Gas has accelerated decision-making by leveraging AI for market analysis and knowledge asset management.
An SK official stated, 'This CEO seminar was an opportunity to reflect on our ongoing transformation process and assess the roles and execution tasks of each member company within the 'AI Flywheel' strategy. We will continue to enhance our fundamental competitiveness and execution capabilities based on field operations.'
Meanwhile, SK Group conducted its 2027 executive appointments on October 30, retaining key CEOs while replacing some executives, focusing on 'stability amid renewal.' This CEO seminar took place about two weeks after the executive appointments.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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