Meeting with Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on the 25th... Discussing Youth Employment
Departing to Inspect US Battery Business
[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won (photo) will depart on the 25th to inspect business operations in the United States after meeting with Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum.
On the same day in the afternoon, Chairman Chey met with Prime Minister Kim at the SK Hynix Icheon campus to discuss plans for expanding youth employment. It is reported that at this meeting, Chairman Chey expressed his commitment to increasing youth employment in new industry sectors. The original plan was to increase the annual hiring scale from about 6,000 to between 9,000 and 10,000 employees.
After completing his domestic schedule, he will soon depart for a business trip to the U.S. This will be Chairman Chey’s third visit to the U.S. this year. In May, he traveled as part of an economic delegation supporting the Korea-U.S. summit, and two months later in July, he visited local business sites. During this trip, he is expected to meet with local political, governmental, and business figures, as well as personally inspect SK affiliate business sites. After stopping in Washington, he is expected to visit Tennessee and Kentucky, where the joint battery plant with Ford will be established. SK On recently finalized plans to build a battery factory with Ford worth a total of $11.4 billion (approximately 13 trillion KRW). SK plans to invest over 3 trillion KRW in the existing Georgia plant and more than 5 trillion KRW in the new joint plant with Ford. It is anticipated that he will meet with Ford executives and local governors to tour the facilities and request cooperation.
As the energy industry paradigm is shifting centered on the U.S., he is also expected to closely examine local trends and recently invested companies. SK is focusing on transforming its existing oil-centered business structure into new energy sectors. SK E&S recently decided to spend $1 billion (1.2 trillion KRW) on acquiring or investing in U.S. energy solution companies.
Chairman Chey encouraged executives and employees of each company by presenting new management themes and blueprints at the annual CEO seminar where next year’s management strategies are formulated. He stated, "By 2030, SK will reduce 200 million tons, which is 1% of the global carbon reduction target (21 billion tons)," and added, "Around 2035, SK should achieve carbon footprint zero, where cumulative emissions and reductions offset each other."
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