Park Sang-gyu, President of SK Inno: "Synergy through E&S Merger... Need to Reduce Costs in Petrochemicals"

First Shareholders' Meeting After SK Innovation-E&S Merger
SK Enmove IPO Considered Until 2028
Focus on LNG Business... "Will Expand the Value Chain"

Park Sang-gyu, CEO of SK Innovation, stated at the first regular shareholders' meeting after the merger with SK E&S that "the overall business structure has significantly improved through the merger," adding, "we have established a balanced energy portfolio spanning petrochemicals, liquefied natural gas (LNG), power, batteries, and renewable energy." However, he emphasized that efforts to reduce costs at the corporate level must continue, particularly regarding the petrochemical business, where he announced, "We will structurally lower the cost itself."

On the 28th, at the '18th Regular Shareholders' Meeting' held at the SK Seorin Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Park reflected on last year's management performance and conveyed these points. This shareholders' meeting was the first since SK Innovation merged with SK E&S (now SK Innovation E&S) in November last year. Park stressed, "All members will unite as 'One Innovation' to prepare stepping stones for future growth amid rapidly changing business environments," and emphasized, "We will leap forward as a ‘Total Energy & Solutions Company’."

Sang-kyu Park, President and CEO of SK Innovation (center), Hyung-wook Choo, President of SK Innovation E&S (left), and Seok-hee Lee, President of SK On (right), attended the 'Dialogue with Shareholders' held on the 28th at the SUPEX Hall in the SK Seorin Building, Jongno-gu, Seoul. (Photo by SK Innovation)

To strengthen communication with shareholders, SK Innovation has arranged a 'Dialogue with Shareholders' session for the third consecutive year. Park, along with Chu Hyung-wook, CEO of SK Innovation E&S, and Lee Seok-hee, CEO of SK On, attended to directly engage with shareholders on company management issues. Regarding the recent market discussions about the initial public offering (IPO) of its subsidiary SK Enmove, Park stated, "No concrete plans have been decided yet." He mentioned that the IPO timeline for SK Enmove is open until 2028 and that various options will be reviewed to ensure that shareholder interests are not compromised regardless of the approach taken.

SK Innovation E&S announced its commitment to strengthening its LNG-based business. CEO Chu said, "LNG is the practical energy source in response to the surge in power demand," adding, "We will expand the energy value chain to secure future growth by adapting to changes in the market environment." SK Innovation E&S is recognized for having an integrated LNG supply chain from gas fields to transportation, terminals, and power plants.

Park referred to the simultaneous downturn in the battery and petrochemical industries, stating, "We will continue efforts to reduce costs and optimize operations at the corporate level." He explained, "We are simultaneously conducting experiments to reduce production costs and cut unnecessary company expenses," adding, "Especially in the petrochemical business, we are taking this opportunity to structurally lower the cost itself." Furthermore, he predicted that these corporate efforts would translate into results by the second half of this year.

At the SK Innovation shareholders' meeting that day, the following items were approved as proposed: ▲Appointment of Park Jin-hoe as Outside Director and Audit Committee member ▲Appointment of Gong Seong-do as Outside Director and Audit Committee member ▲Appointment of Kang Dong-su as Other Non-Executive Director ▲Approval of the director remuneration limit ▲Approval of the 18th fiscal year financial statements. To enhance transparency and fairness of the board, SK Innovation increased the number of outside directors from five to six. The proportion of outside directors among all directors remains at about 60%.