SK Seeks Ways to Accelerate 'Fundamental Innovation' Centered on Members

From the 21st, Four Days of Announcements and Discussions on Flexible Work Systems and Employment Stability
Addressing Issues of Interest to Members

Choi Jae-won, Senior Vice Chairman of SK Group, is delivering the opening address at the 'Icheon Forum 2023' held on the 21st at Grand Walkerhill in Gwangjang-dong, Seoul. Photo by SK

SK Group is seeking ways to practice and accelerate 'Deep Change'?fundamental innovation?led by its members through its representative knowledge management platform, the 'Icheon Forum.'

On the 21st, SK Group held the opening ceremony of 'Icheon Forum 2023' at the Grand Walkerhill in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, kicking off the four-day forum schedule that runs until the 24th. During the forum, SK plans to share insights on recent global key issues such as generative artificial intelligence and the restructuring of the global industrial landscape, and to engage in in-depth discussions on member-centered 'Deep Change' implementation plans.

The Icheon Forum was initiated in 2017 by SK Chairman Chey Tae-won as a platform for discussions to prepare for rapidly changing management environments and to gain foresight into the future. Over the years, through lectures by domestic and international scholars and discussions with internal and external experts, the forum has provided opportunities to assess the current status of major management issues such as happiness management, ESG (environment, social, governance), technological innovation, and financial story, while envisioning the future.

The opening ceremony was attended by 250 people, including key executives such as Senior Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won and Vice Chairman Chey Chang-won, outside directors, academics, representatives from the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and heads of SK member company partners. Chairman Chey Tae-won and SK Supex Council Chairman Cho Dae-sik, who are currently engaged in overseas activities to attract the '2030 Busan World Expo,' participated online. Chairman Chey Tae-won is scheduled to attend in person on the final day, the 24th, to engage in discussions with members.

In his opening remarks, Senior Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won said, "The keyword for this year's Icheon Forum is 'Deep Change practice through active speak-out by members,'" adding, "Successful execution of 'Deep Change' requires the trust and consent of the members who are the main agents of its implementation."

He continued, "I hope meaningful discussions and practical proposals for accelerating the practice of 'Deep Change' will be made at the forum," emphasizing, "Above all, continuous efforts are necessary to ensure that these lead to actual change."

The main agenda items of this forum were selected as those directly related to members' growth and pursuit of happiness: innovation in working methods, securing future capabilities of members, and evaluation/reward systems. Additionally, measures to accelerate the implementation of 'SK Management System 2.0,' such as Customer Story, Globalization, and enhancing communication between the board of directors and members, will be discussed in depth. The Customer Story refers to SK Group's direction of change, which starts with understanding customers first and communicating in the language of the customer perspective.

The first day of the opening focuses on sharing insights to lead 'Deep Change' in an era of change. First, on the topic of corporate changes accelerated by generative artificial intelligence, global AI scholar Professor Fei Fei Li from Stanford University and Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, a U.S. generative AI startup recently decided for investment by SK Telecom, will give keynote presentations and participate in expert discussions.

Following this, sessions will be held to discuss securing future capabilities of members in response to business changes and to gauge directions for restructuring the global industrial landscape amid rapidly changing international order.

From the 22nd, the venue will move to the SKMS Research Institute located in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, where member-centered presentations and discussions will take place. First, results from a flexible working experiment voluntarily participated in by about 200 employees from affiliate business departments will be shared, and through discussions between experiment participants and management, the 'optimal working method' will be explored.

Additionally, the results of the 'SK’s Story Toward Customers' contest recently conducted for all group members will be announced, and continuous Customer Story implementation plans will be discussed. A communication session to broaden mutual understanding will also be prepared by reviewing the results of sub-forums between the board of directors and members held throughout the year by each affiliate.

On the 23rd, execution plans to harmonize changes in the company’s business model with members’ future growth from the perspective of employability will be discussed. Members from overseas subsidiaries in the U.S., Europe, China, and Southeast Asia will share difficulties experienced during local business operations and seek solutions together with experts.

On the final day, the 24th, various opinions on the evaluation and reward system, which is the greatest concern of members, will be collected and discussed to seek improvement directions that can enhance mutual understanding and consensus.

An SK official said, "The voices of members and innovation plans gathered at this year’s Icheon Forum will be optimized for each affiliate in the future to accelerate ‘Deep Change’ in business and working methods."