SK Chair Chey calls on cousin for help in group management

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has called on his cousin to help in the management of South Korea’s No. 2 conglomerate as it faces the challenge of reorganizing its business structure to focus on electric vehicle batteries, bio and semiconductors.

Chey Chang-won, vice chairman of SK Discovery Co., an intermediate holding company of the group, is likely to become chairman of SK SUPEX Council, the conglomerate’s top advisory group that sets strategic direction and provides guidance on essential business issues, in the group’s year-end management reshuffle scheduled later this week, according to industry sources on Monday.

The council’s current Chairman Cho Dae Sik, the president of SK Inc., the group’s holding company, is set to step down along with top executives of its key affiliates, including SK Innovation Co. Vice Chairman and CEO Kim Jun, SK Hynix Inc. Vice Chairman and CEO Park Jung-ho and SK Inc. Vice Chairman and CEO Jang Dong Hyun, said sources from those firms including group officials.

“Chairman Chey and SK Inc. Executive Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won asked Vice Chairman Chey Chang-won to lead the council,” said a senior group executive. “He is predicted to accept the position unless anything unexpected happens, as far as I know.”

SK Discovery, spun off from SK Chemicals Co. in 2017, currently has SK Bioscience Co., SK Plasma Co. and SK Chemicals, SK Gas Ltd. and construction firm SK D&D under its wing.

STRONG TRUST

The appointment suggests that Chairman Chey has confidence in the vice chairman and appreciates his management capabilities, industry sources said.

“The chairman has a strong trust in the vice chairman as he has successfully led the listing of SK Bioscience,” said a source in the local business circle.

The spin-off from the vaccine division of SK Chemicals went public in March 2021.

Separately, SK Inc. Executive Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won, the chairman’s younger brother, is set to focus on the group’s battery business, according to industry sources, according to sources.

Jang Yong Ho, CEO of the group’s silicon wafer maker SK Siltron Co., is likely to replace SK Inc. President Cho, while Park Sang-kyu, CEO of lubricants producer SK Enmove, is expected to head SK Innovation, the sources said.

Write to Jae-Fu Kim at hu@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.