SK chairman calls on CEOs to turn misfortune into gain

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won called on chiefs of the group’s affiliates to navigate business uncertainties by setting up case-by-case scenarios in order to turn misfortunes into gains, South Korea's second-largest business conglomerate said Sunday.

The implementation of a data-driven action plan and internalization of sustainability factors, under the mantra of "SK Management System 2.0" unveiled in June, will allow the energy-to-biotechnology group to take a leap forward through a business transition amid external challenges.

Chey quoted "The Art of War," attributed to Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu.

"The difficulty of tactical maneuvering consists of turning the devious into the direct, and misfortune into gain," Chey said at the closing remarks of the three-day gathering of SK Group CEOs and key executives on Friday.

Chey also urged attendees to keep close tabs on possible further spillovers of macroeconomic risk factors.

This came as the closed-door event, attended by 30 key figures of the group at Jeju Island, was meant to review geopolitical crises such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, climate change and their macroeconomic impact, such as inflation and monetary tightening.

Attendees there include SK Research Institute President Yum Yong-seop, SK Ecoplant CEO Park Kyung-il, SK Materials CEO Lee Yong-wook, SK Siltron CEO Jang Yong-ho, SKC CEO Park Won-cheol, SK Biopharmaceuticals CEO Cho Jeong-woo and SK Lubricants CEO Cha Gyu-tak.

(consnow@heraldcorp.com)