SK Group Establishes 'Professional CEO Vice Chairman System'

2022 Executive Appointments and Organizational Restructuring
Kim Jun and Jang Donghyun Appointed New Vice Chairmen
Alongside Vice Chairman Yoo Jeongjun
Announcing Strengthened Overseas Business
No Jongwon Appointed President of SK Hynix
Park Woncheol Appointed President of SKC
Innovative Personnel Changes Breaking Seniority System

View of SK Seorin Building, the headquarters of SK Group in Jongno-gu. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] In the personnel changes carried out by each affiliate of SK Group on the 2nd, two CEOs were promoted to vice chairman, solidifying the professional management system for each major business unit of the group. While rewarding those who delivered results, the group also showed a policy of empowering areas where momentum is needed for new businesses.

Notably, SK Group has transitioned both its holding company and intermediate business holding companies to a vice chairman-level CEO system through the promotion of SK Inc. President Jang Dong-hyun and SK Innovation CEO Kim Jun to vice chairman. SK Inc. is a holding company with stakes in group affiliates and also operates as a business-type holding company investing mainly in four key areas: advanced materials, eco-friendly, bio, and digital sectors. Additionally, it has a system integration (SI) business unit, C&C, and recently merged semiconductor and battery materials company Materials as company-in-company (CIC) entities. President Jang is a former employee of Yukong (now SK Energy) and has mainly worked within the group and SK Telecom.

SK Innovation, led by CEO Kim Jun, is an intermediate holding company with subsidiaries in SK’s core businesses of refining, chemicals, oil exploration, and lubricants. It directly operated the battery business, identified as a future growth engine, but spun it off into a subsidiary as of October this year. The separator business, one of the key battery materials, has completed its initial public offering. It is regarded as a key affiliate at the center of the group’s overall business portfolio transformation from a carbon emission focus to eco-friendly businesses, in line with Chairman Chey Tae-won’s emphasis on ESG (environment, social, governance) management.

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group

With this personnel change, two new vice chairmen joined the group’s professional management vice chairman team, standing shoulder to shoulder with SK E&S Vice Chairman Yoo Jung-joon, who plays the role of an intermediate holding company in new energy fields such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and hydrogen, and SK Square Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho, who oversees information and communication technology (ICT) and semiconductor sectors, at each holding unit level.

Additionally, Seo Jin-woo, chairman of the SK Supex Council’s Talent Development Committee, who was promoted in September this year, oversees the China business. Meanwhile, Vice Chairman Yoo is expected to take charge of the North America business, which is reportedly in final coordination stages. If he assumes this key role in major market units, the group-wide overall reorganization is expected to be completed. SK Group’s core businesses such as semiconductors and petrochemicals, as well as the battery business being nurtured as a future growth engine, currently focus on the US and China as the two main pillars overseas.

Furthermore, Park Won-cheol, head of the SK Supex Council’s New Business Team, was appointed as the new president of SKC, a materials business affiliate. Park, who comes from an external consulting firm, has been responsible for discovering new businesses at Supex, which supports decision-making for major SK affiliates since 2018. Recently, he served as the head of SK Group’s Southeast Asia investment corporation, leading new investments in Vietnam and Japan. As SKC is expanding its semiconductor and battery materials business and increasing overseas facilities, Park, an expert in new businesses, was selected as president.