Generational shift in SK leadership with chairman’s cousin on front line

SK Group is setting out for a new era, tapping younger leaders in their 40s and 50s to lead South Korea’s second-largest group in its mission to take on new growth engines under new plans set out by SK Chairman Chey Tae-won’s cousin, Chey Chang-won.

SK on Thursday approved a proposal to appoint Chey Chang-won, vice chairman of SK Discovery Co., an intermediate holding company of SK Group, as SK SUPEX chairman, as part of its year-end management reshuffle. His tenure is two years.

The Korea Economic Daily earlier this week reported that SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has asked his cousin to lead the conglomerate’s top advisory group that sets strategic direction and provides guidance on essential business issues.

The new SUPEX chairman is credited for the successful listing of SK Bioscience Co. in 2021 and has been leading SK Discovery, which controls SK Bioscience, SK Plasma Co., SK Chemicals Co., SK Gas Ltd. and SK D&D, since 2017.

Chey will work with new leaders of SK’s key affiliates who were also appointed today to seek out opportunities and fend off challenges at a time of growing global trade and geopolitical risks.

SK Group streamlined the senior executive line for more efficient management after promoting 82 to executive positions during this year’s management change, fewer than last year’s 145.

There were no vice chairman promotions this year.  

YOUNG LEADERS ON THE FRONT LINE

The conglomerate has replaced seven affiliates’ chief executives with incumbent CEOs of other sibling companies who have proven their ability to successfully spearhead their companies in the past years.

Jang Yong Ho, CEO of SK’s silicon wafer maker SK Siltron Co., will lead the group’s holding company SK Inc., replacing Cho Dae Sik who will also step down from SK SUPEX chairmanship.

Lee Yong Wook, president and CEO of SK Materials Co., will head SK Siltron, while Park Sang-kyu, CEO of lubricants producer SK Enmove Co., will take the helm of SK Innovation Co.

SK Energy will have Oh Jong-hoon, head of SK Energy P&M CIC, as its new CEO, while former SK Hynix Inc.'s president and CEO Lee Seok-hee will return to lead SK On Co. as president.

SK Hynix CEO Kwak Noh-jung will take solo leadership of the world’s second-largest memory chip maker after the company’s Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho leaves the co-CEO position.  

“The new leaders are well-prepared managers who have been nurtured as the group’s next-generation leaders for a long time,” SK Group said in a statement.

SK also nominated Kim Yang-taek, head of SK’s Advanced Materials Investment Center, as president of SK Materials and Kim Won-ki, head of SK Enmove’s Green Growth Division, as SK Enmove CEO.

The ranks of the new leaders are in their 40s and 50s, marking the biggest generational change in SK Group leadership in seven years by replacing their predecessors in the 60s.

The youngest executive is Chey Yoon-chung, head of SK Biopharmaceuticals Co.'s strategic investment team and eldest daughter of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won. The 34-year-old scion was promoted to an executive position at SK Biopharmaceuticals on Thursday.

SK Group Chairman Chey hinted at a major generational change in leadership in October during the conglomerate’s CEO seminar by warning of “sudden death” if the group does not realign promptly with a sea of drastic internal and external changes.

Earlier this month, he again signaled a leadership change to reporters, saying that it is necessary to give new and young managers opportunities to lead.

Following this year’s executive reshuffles, SK Inc. Vice Chairman Cho will play a role in enhancing the fiscal soundness of the group’s key affiliates and advising on global investment strategies after stepping down from SK SUPEX as chairman and SK Inc. as president.

SK Inc. Vice Chairman Jang Dong-hyun will keep his vice chairman title and join Park Kyung-il, SK Ecoplant Co. CEO, to lead the company’s initial public offering.

Kim Jun will step down from the SK Innovation CEO position but remain as vice chairman.

Park Jung-ho will also leave his position at SK Hynix CEO position but will lead the artificial intelligence alliance with global big tech companies to drive the growth of the group’s future growth engine as vice chairman of both SK Hynix and SK Inc.

SK INC. TAKES OVER INVESTMENT DUTIES

Under the direction of new CEO Jang, SK Group’s holding company SK Inc. will manage group investment projects handed over by SK SUPEX.

Global offices in the US, China and Japan under the council will also be placed under SK Inc.

With the latest reorganization, SK Inc. will improve its investment portfolio management to enhance the corporate value of affiliates.

SK Square Co., the group’s investment arm, will separate investments by function – CIO Growth that invests in new growth engines centered around semiconductors and CIO Transformation that focuses on investment portfolio realignment to enhance asset value.

The restructuring aims to reinforce investment expertise in key growth drivers in a pre-emptive move to respond to radical internal and external changes in the business landscape, the company said.

Write to Jae-Fu Kim at hu@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.