Icheon Forum 2025 Concludes on the 20th
An Interactive Forum for Communication with Members
Sharing Innovative Strategies for the AI Era and Insights on Operation Improvement
According to SK on August 21, SK Group Chairman Chey Taewon made these remarks regarding "Strategies for Securing Competitiveness in the AI Era" during the closing session of the "Icheon Forum 2025," held the previous day at the SK Seorin Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Chairman Chey emphasized, "In the future, most of the work we currently do will be replaced by AI agents," and urged, "People should focus on creating new and creative value."
Chairman Chey TaeWon of SK Group is answering questions from members during the closing session of the "Icheon Forum 2025" held on the 20th at the SK Seorin Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. SK
The closing session of this year's Icheon Forum was conducted as an interactive dialogue, with Chairman Chey communicating in real time with SK members both on-site and online, sharing his thoughts on AI/DT, operation improvement, and sustainable happiness. The session was attended by 170 participants, including Chairman Chey, Senior Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won, SUPEX Council Chairman Chey Chang-won, other key executives, and "Frontier" members representing SK employees. Over 2,800 online participants also submitted questions and opinions in real time.
Chairman Chey also addressed "Operation Improvement (O/I)," which SK Group is currently promoting. He stated, "Operation improvement is about strengthening the company's fundamental capabilities. Even in an AI-driven world, if we lack a solid foundation, everything built on top of it will eventually collapse," adding, "To secure fundamental competitiveness in the AI era, it is essential to fully understand and reinforce our everyday operations."
Additionally, when asked about "sustainable happiness," Chairman Chey responded, "Happiness is different for everyone, but ultimately, the goal of the SK Management System (SKMS) is to nurture shared happiness." He continued, "For sustainable happiness, everyone must speak out voluntarily and enthusiastically, making active efforts together." Chairman Chey stressed, "SKMS should not be exclusively for members; it must evolve to also consider the happiness of society and various stakeholders."
He further pointed out, "If we become obsessed only with rewards, we cannot see the future clearly. That is a shortsighted approach. I have heard that even a 1,700% performance bonus is not enough for some, but increasing it to 3,000% or 5,000% will not necessarily bring happiness." Chairman Chey added, "SK Hynix has risen to become the number one semiconductor company and has, to some extent, overcome the frustration of being second place in the past, but anxiety and unhappiness still remain."
Now in its ninth year, the Icheon Forum is SK's flagship annual event, initiated by Chairman Chey in 2017 to create a platform for change in response to a rapidly evolving business environment. The forum brings together leading domestic and international scholars, experts, and SK members to actively discuss global industry trends, innovative technologies, and future business directions.
Chairman Chey has made AI a key agenda item for the Icheon Forum since 2019. With innovative technologies such as AI and DT as core drivers, top management and working-level employees have spent three to four days discussing and learning how to enhance global competitiveness.
As a result, global scholars and big tech participants at the forefront of AI have begun to actively participate in the Icheon Forum. On the first day of this year's forum, August 18, AI experts such as William Fong, former Vice President of AI at Microsoft and current Chief Strategy Officer at DigBI, an AI consulting firm, and Mohamad Ali, Senior Vice Chairman at IBM, presented on strategies for expanding the AI ecosystem and shared innovation cases from the industry. They also engaged in open discussions with major SK affiliates, including SK Innovation, SK Hynix, and SK AX.
On the second day, August 19, each SK company held its own workshop to explore future strategies, including AI, as well as practical approaches to implementing SKMS.
An SK official stated, "In this era, the speed of change-who moves first and responds proactively-determines a company's survival. With the sense of urgency that stagnation is essentially equivalent to regression, SK Group will continue to create diverse platforms for knowledge, change, and communication to prepare for and lead the future."
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