SK Group's Chey Tae-won Emphasizes Importance of AI Transition at Unified Forum

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won attends the Korea-Japan special session [Photo=SK Group]

Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, has set the transition to artificial intelligence (AI) as an urgent priority, merging the group’s two major events—the management strategy meeting and the Icheon Forum—into a platform for in-depth discussions on AI. "If we fail to keep pace with AI advancements, we cannot guarantee our future survival," Chey emphasized, reflecting a heightened sense of urgency for organizational innovation.

SK Group announced on June 10 that it will host the '2026 New Icheon Forum' from June 11 to 13 at the SKMS Research Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, under the theme 'Disruptive Innovation Brought by AI: A Major Shift to AI-Centric Management.'

More than 50 executives, including Chey, Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won, and Chairman of the SUPEX Council Chey Chang-won, as well as CEOs from major subsidiaries, will participate.

The New Icheon Forum combines the management strategy meeting, which focuses on group strategies, with the Icheon Forum, which discusses future agendas, marking its inaugural event this year.

Historically, SK Group has convened its key executives for a management strategy meeting around June and held the Icheon Forum in August, where group members and domestic and international experts engage in focused discussions on global industry trends and future business directions.

The integration of these two events this year is reportedly driven by Chey’s strong directive to enhance the implementation of AI. Recently, he has been actively engaging in the AI sector. Earlier this month, at the 'Computex 2026' event in Taiwan, he met with Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, and C.C. Wei, Chairman of TSMC, to discuss collaboration in the AI semiconductor ecosystem. During Huang's visit to South Korea, they held multiple meetings to explore expanding AI infrastructure cooperation.

The forum is also expected to address the current status of restructuring efforts and future directions. Since 2023, SK Group has been restructuring its business by divesting non-core assets, streamlining overlapping operations, and enhancing investment efficiency.

Recently, the group has been deliberating the sale of SK Siltron. Although the sale was initiated to reduce debt burdens, the recovery of the semiconductor market and increased AI investments have led to a reevaluation of SK Siltron's corporate value. SK Siltron is the world's third-largest producer of silicon wafers, a key material for semiconductors, with SK Hynix as a major customer.

Internally, there is a growing sentiment within SK Group that the focus should shift from short-term financial improvements to securing a long-term semiconductor value chain. The decision regarding the sale of SK Siltron is reportedly under reconsideration.

* This article has been translated by AI.

Lee nakyeong