SK Chey Tae-won: "Become Talent Designing Ways to Give Back to Society"

At the 50th Anniversary Ceremony of the Higher Education Foundation

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, is delivering a commemorative speech at the 50th anniversary ceremony of the Korea Higher Education Foundation held on the 26th at Walkerhill Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. Photo by SK

"We hope you become talents who design methodologies to give back to society on your own."

On the 26th, SK Chairman Chey Tae-won attended the 50th anniversary ceremony of the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies held at Walkerhill Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. He said, "Because there was someone who first dug a well, we can drink water today. Someday, I hope you also become people who give back the benefits you have received while thinking about digging new wells and the roots."

The Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies was established in 1974 by the late Chey Jong-hyun, the former chairman of SK Group. The founding spirit of Chairman Chey Jong-hyun is the philosophy of "planting trees looking ten years ahead, nurturing talents looking a hundred years ahead" (십년수목 백년수인, 十年樹木 百年樹人). Chairman Chey Tae-won has been carrying on the founder’s will since he took office as the second chairman of the foundation in 1998.

On this day, Chairman Chey attended the ceremony along with his eldest daughter, Chey Yoon-jung, head of SK Biopharm’s Business Development Division, and his third son, Chey In-geun, manager at SK Innovation E&S. This was the first time Chairman Chey appeared in an official setting with more than two of his children. He said, "(The 50 years of the Foundation) is a legacy, and I thought my children should observe such events and be trained. They should often see what their grandfather and father did, and the future should be planned by these young people."

In addition to the 50th anniversary of the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, Chairman Chey is continuously expanding platforms with similar ideas. He said, "The Chey Jong-hyun Academy is dedicated to global networks and the field of science and technology, and through the Social Value Research Institute, we are studying how to evaluate and develop academic content in real-world contexts."

The Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies has continuously worked toward nurturing Korean talents into world-class scholars. The foundation did not impose any obligations or conditions such as employment at SK on its scholarship recipients. It fully supported tuition and living expenses for five years so that they could earn doctoral degrees at leading graduate schools worldwide. Even during crises such as the 1997 foreign exchange crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, the foundation continued support so that scholars could focus solely on their studies without worry.

Through this, the foundation has produced about 1,000 PhDs from world-renowned universities and over 5,000 scholarship recipients. Notable alumni include the foundation’s first overseas scholarship recipient, veteran political scientist Chey Jang-jip, Honorary Professor at Korea University; Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea; Yeom Jae-ho, former president of Korea University (currently president of Taejae University); Kim Yong-hak, former president of Yonsei University; Park Hong-geun, the first Korean tenured professor at Harvard University and chair professor of chemistry and physics; and Cheon Myung-woo, the first Asian dean at Yale University and professor of psychology.

Especially at this ceremony, a special moment was prepared where AI technology was used to recreate the image of the founding chairman, the late Chey Jong-hyun. In the video, Chairman Chey Jong-hyun said, "To students going abroad, I said, 'Plant a seed in your heart.' It meant to have a dream of growing into a big tree, but also to not be impatient and focus solely on studying. We were willing to wait until the seed you planted grows into a tree."

Chairman Chey Jong-hyun added, "Instead of spending time calculating possibilities, start challenges earlier than others, and even if you sometimes waver, grow into a strong tree that never breaks. I express my gratitude to Chairman Chey Tae-won for growing the foundation beyond the ideals I dreamed of 50 years ago."

At the ceremony, the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies also announced its vision. Kim Yoo-seok, CEO of the foundation, declared a new mission, "Nurturing people like tending trees and contributing to human prosperity as a forest of talents," along with a new vision, "Cultivating talents who lead the era and building an inclusive knowledge community that creates social value."

About 300 people attended the ceremony, including Chairman Chey, former secretaries-general Park In-guk and Choi Byung-il, foundation and SK officials, and scholarship recipients. Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea, and Ahn Deok-geun, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, who are alumni of the foundation, sent congratulatory messages via video. Additionally, the foundation unveiled a 50-year history at the ceremony, documenting its founding background, milestones, and valuable achievements. The 50-year history will also be available on the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies website.