SK Inno Completes Creation of 'SK Happiness Forest' for Ulsan Wildfire Damage Restoration

Planted 180,000 Wild Cherry Trees on 60ha of Forest

SK Innovation has completed the creation of the ‘SK Ulsan Happiness Forest’ to restore the wildfire-affected areas in Ulju-gun, Ulsan.

SK Innovation announced on the 2nd that it held a plaque unveiling ceremony together with Ulsan Metropolitan City and Ulju-gun, naming the area ‘SK Ulsan Happiness Forest’ to signify the completion of tree planting activities and the wish for a lush forest.

To celebrate the company’s 60th anniversary last year, SK Innovation carried out forest restoration activities in Ulju-gun, which suffered wildfire damage, as a token of gratitude to the Ulsan community where its core business sites are located. The area where the ‘SK Ulsan Happiness Forest’ was established experienced a fire in March 2020 that turned 519 hectares (equivalent to 727 soccer fields) of forest into ashes.

To support this, SK Innovation donated 1 billion KRW for forest restoration costs and planted approximately 180,000 trees over an area of 60 hectares from October last year to March this year. About 250 members of the SK Innovation affiliates participated in the tree planting volunteer activities, along with Ulsan Life Forest and the Ulsan Metropolitan City Forestry Cooperative. The main tree species, the wild cherry tree, has xylem evenly spread in its growth rings, maintaining a consistent moisture content, making it resistant to fire.

(From the fifth person on the left) Yoo Jaeyoung, Executive Vice President of SK Innovation Ulsan CLX, Seo Jungwook, Deputy Mayor of Ulsan Metropolitan City, and Lee Sungul, Mayor of Ulju County, are taking a commemorative photo in front of the signboard of 'SK Ulsan Happiness Forest.'
[Photo by SK Innovation]

The unveiling ceremony was attended by Seo Jeong-wook, Deputy Mayor of Ulsan Metropolitan City, Lee Soon-geol, Mayor of Ulju-gun, and Yoo Jae-young, Executive Vice President of SK Innovation Ulsan Complex. The plaques presented to Ulsan Life Forest and the Ulsan Metropolitan City Forestry Cooperative, who have been dedicated to forest greening in Ulju-gun, were made of birch wood. Birch is a major tree species of Mt. Indeungsan in Chungju, cultivated by the late Choi Jong-hyun, the former chairman of SK Group, who valued forests and talent and promoted ‘forest cultivation for national prosperity.’ According to an SK Innovation official, this symbolizes the continuation of eco-friendly projects such as afforestation and ESG management commitments, as well as efforts to reduce carbon emissions (Net Zero).

Mayor Lee of Ulju-gun said, “We appreciate SK Innovation for empathizing with the pain of the local community and greatly helping with forest restoration activities,” and added, “We hope that the ‘SK Ulsan Happiness Forest’ will soon recover to its former state and become a landmark of Ulju-gun and Ulsan.”

Vice President Yoo said, “Thanks to the dedicated efforts of many people over the past six months, we were able to safely complete the forest restoration activities,” and added, “With the love and companionship of Ulsan, SK Innovation, which celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, will continue to create greater coexistence and happiness with Ulsan for the next 60 years.”