27th SK Inc. 33rd Annual General Meeting of Shareholders
"Macro Environment Changed Since 2021
Full Business Review at June Expanded Management Meeting"
"Choi Seonghwan, Choi Yujin, and Choi Jaewon keep selling stocks all the time. Isn't it problematic to expect the stock price to rise when the largest shareholder's relatives are selling? The company should actively respond."
"It's not even 2 million won, it's in the 100,000 won range. Please be honest. Is it okay to keep holding? Is there any chance it could even halve?"
"I want to say clearly, 'Please hold on,' but I am sorry. We need to repay and be evaluated by shareholders through the stock price, and I apologize." (Vice Chairman Jang Donghyun)
On the 27th, at the SK Inc. shareholders' meeting held at the SK Seorin Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, as shareholders continued to criticize the company's stock price management, Vice Chairman Jang Donghyun, the chairman of the SK Inc. shareholders' meeting, repeatedly said, "I am sorry."
A shareholder who has attended the SK Inc. shareholders' meeting for three years said, "The government is pushing for corporate value-up, but share buybacks alone are not improving shareholder value as much as desired." He added, "What the market wants is the cancellation of 25% of treasury shares held, but two years ago, it was said it would be done, and last year, it was said it would be done at a good time." He asked, "If canceling all at once is burdensome, do you have the will to do it over five or ten years?"
Vice Chairman Jang said, "Given the current domestic market situation, simply announcing a schedule for canceling treasury shares does not yet give us confidence that shareholder value will be enhanced as shareholders expect." He added, "I apologize for the delay," and said, "We will continue discussions this year as well."
A shareholder who introduced himself as a small shareholder said, "In 2021, it was not a securities firm analyst but the current CEO who said the corporate value would reach 150 trillion won and the stock price 2 million won, so I trusted and bought." He said, "I am not trying to hold Vice Chairman Jang Donghyun responsible," and asked, "Since you are leaving (to another affiliate), please honestly tell us if we should keep waiting."
Starting with "I am sorry," Vice Chairman Jang said, "We have not yet found a way to resolve the practical constraints." He explained, "The macroeconomic environment was estimated based on 2021, so there were significant setbacks," and "Because the holding company system is structured as a conglomerate, it is structurally difficult to assess value in the stock market." He said, "SK Inc. has a portfolio that performs well, but also has a portfolio that is very concerning."
However, Vice Chairman Jang also said, "Among the companies SK Inc. invested in, some portfolios have decreased in valuation, but SK Inc.'s own financial flows, such as operating profit and dividend income, are coming out without major setbacks as we expected."
Regarding the stock sales by special relations of the largest shareholder, including Choi Seonghwan, SK Networks Business General Manager and nephew of Chairman Choi Tae-won, Vice Chairman Jang said, "Although they are special relations, it is an issue of individual property rights disposal, so it is difficult for me to give an exact answer."
In response to a shareholder's remark that "Since Chairman Choi Changwon of SK Supex Council took office, reports on business restructuring have continued," Vice Chairman Jang said, "We organized the financial story comprehensively in 2021 and reported it to shareholders annually, but the management environment has changed significantly from when liquidity was abundant to now." He added, "We are reviewing and organizing the financial stories of each affiliate centered on Supex."
Vice Chairman Jang said, "At this point, we are approaching much more conservatively," and "We plan to discuss how to upgrade the overall situation at the expanded management meeting in June."
When asked about the allocation of some listed shares to existing shareholders when companies invested in by SK Inc. go public, Vice Chairman Jang said, "Since LG Energy Solution's spin-off and listing raised issues about dual listing in Korea, we need to seriously consider the listing of unlisted companies we effectively hold."
He said, "If understanding with the stock market is not first established, the burden of listing is large," and "We will communicate with the stock market to discuss supplementary measures on how to resolve compensation issues for parent company shareholders."
He stated that there are no plans to merge with SK Square. In response to a shareholder's comment that "There is talk that shareholder value would increase significantly if SK Hynix became a subsidiary of SK Inc.," Vice Chairman Jang said, "Since SK Square is also a listed company, separate discussions at each board of directors can be considered, but we have never made concrete merger plans."
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