Kim Jun, Vice Chairman of SK Innovation, Requests Support for 'Busan Expo' in Poland

Meeting with Poland's Minister of Economic Development and Technology
"Positive Review of New Green Energy Investments"
SKIET Conducts On-site Inspection of Battery Separator Factory

Kim Jun, Vice Chairman of SK Innovation (left), is taking a commemorative photo after a meeting with Waldemar Buda, Minister of Economic Development and Technology of Poland (right), on the 9th (local time) in Poland.

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Kim Jun, Vice Chairman of SK Innovation, visited Poland to seek support for the bid to host the '2030 Busan World Expo.'

On the 9th (local time), Vice Chairman Kim met with Waldemar Buda, Minister of Economic Development and Technology of Poland, at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology in Warsaw, Poland, and said, "Since Poland and SK share the same goals regarding the environment and future energy, the Busan Expo, which will focus intensively on global sustainable development measures, will be a great opportunity for both Poland and SK."

He added, "The Busan Expo is being planned as a platform to jointly address various challenges and issues the world faces, such as the climate crisis."

Also present at the meeting were Noh Jae-seok, President of SK IE Technology (SKIET), Robert Piwka, Deputy Director of the Investment Development Department, and Aleksander Siemaszko, Deputy Director of the Investment Cooperation Department.

Vice Chairman Kim also expressed expectations for close cooperation with Poland in the future green energy sector. He said, "We appreciate the Polish government's deep interest and support for SK Group's ongoing investment projects in Poland," and emphasized, "We will strive to ensure that the investment projects planned by each company within SK Group proceed as originally promised and will positively consider additional new investment projects."

In response, Minister Waldemar Buda said, "The Polish government seeks flexible cooperation with Korean companies, including SK, beyond conventional frameworks," and added, "Especially since Poland is focusing on future energy sectors such as electric vehicles, we will actively support Korean companies expanding investments in these areas."

Poland is the largest trading and investment partner of Korea in Central and Eastern Europe and serves as a major production hub for domestic companies in Europe. SK Group has invested about $2.6 billion, with SKIET, SK Nexilis, SK Hynix, and SKC operating production facilities and technology development subsidiaries in Poland.

In particular, Poland is promoting its 'Energy Policy 2040,' which aims to drastically reduce coal dependency and expand investments in offshore wind and solar power.

Vice Chairman Kim then visited SKIET's lithium-ion battery separator (LiBS) production plant located in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, inspected the site, and encouraged the staff. SKIET is currently the first LiBS manufacturer in Europe and plans to invest about 2.2 trillion KRW by 2024 to secure the largest local production capacity of 1.54 billion square meters of separators.

Meanwhile, in June, SK Group launched the 'World Expo Task Force (TF),' led by Cho Dae-sik, Chairman of the SK Supex Council, with vice chairman-level top executives participating. Last month, Chairman Cho visited Fiji in the South Pacific, where the 'Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Summit' was held, to promote the Expo bid.