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| SK Group headquarters in Seoul / Korea Times file |
By Park Jae-hyuk
SK Group carried out an annual reshuffle of CEOs at its affiliates, Thursday, indicating its intention to focus more on stable operations next year amid growing uncertainties in the global business environment.
Most of the group's vice chairman-level executives ― SK Inc. CEO Jang Dong-hyun, SK Innovation CEO Kim Jun and SK hynix CEO Park Jung-ho ― maintained their positions.
SK E&S Vice Chairman Yu Jeong-joon was appointed to direct SK Group's public relations in North America and serve as the CEO of PassKey, a U.S. subsidiary of SK E&S in charge of energy solutions. As a result, SK E&S CEO Choo Hyeong-wook became the sole leader of the energy firm.
Cho Dae-sik, chairman of SK Supex Council, the group's decision-making body, was also allowed to serve his fourth two-year term. He has retained the seat since his appointment in 2017.
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| SK Supex Council Chairman Cho Dae-sik / Korea Times file |
Lee Hyung-hee, the Supex Council's social value committee head, who is also the vice chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was replaced by SK Energy CEO Cho Kyung-mok. Lee was appointed to lead the council's communication committee.
Among the president-level executives, SK C&C CEO Park Sung-ha was appointed as the CEO of SK Square, an investment firm that holds SK hynix, 11Street and Tmap Mobility as its subsidiaries. His position as the SK C&C CEO was given to SK Square Chief Investment Officer Yoon Poong-young, who joined SK Telecom in 2007 after working for IBM.
The new SK Square CEO has been recognized for designing investment portfolios and discovering digital-related new businesses, despite the recent fire at SK C&C's data center building in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, which caused the worst-ever disruptions in Kakao's mobile services. He previously worked for SK Supex Council.
Given that SK Square had been led by the SK hynix CEO, the new chief executive's appointment will likely enable the chipmaker to focus more on managing risks involving the global semiconductor industry amid the looming economic recession.
SK Telecom did not replace its incumbent CEO Ryu Young-sang. In addition, he was appointed to lead both SK Telecom and its subsidiary, SK Broadband.
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| From left are SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang, who was also appointed to lead SK Broadband, SK Square CEO nominee Park Sung-ha and SK C&C CEO nominee Yoon Poong-young. Courtesy of each company |
SK Biopharmaceuticals, which is in charge of developing innovative novel drugs, replaced CEO Cho Jeong-woo with Lee Dong-hoon, head of SK Inc.'s bio investment center.
Lee previously worked for Samjong KPMG and Dong-A Pharmaceuticals. After joining SK Inc., he contributed to the company's bio investments, including the acquisition of Yposkesi, a French contract development and manufacturing organization, and the establishment of a joint venture called Proteovant with Swiss healthcare company Roivant Sciences.
SK Chemicals and SK Discovery swapped their CEOs ― SK Chemicals CEO Jeon Kwang-hyun, who was transferred to SK Discovery, and SK Discovery CEO Ahn Jae-hyun, who moved to SK Chemicals.
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