SK chairman prepares for comeback

SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won, who was released from prison Friday through a presidential pardon, held key meetings at the group’s headquarters in downtown Seoul over the weekend in his efforts to normalize operations and lend a hand in reviving the Korean economy as promised, according to group officials Sunday.

Chey took the first steps toward resuming his chairman duties on Saturday, the day after his release, by meeting with SK SUPEX Council chairman Kim Chang-geun and key officials at SK’s core affiliates to discuss pending management issues.

Such moves were expected as the SK chairman had hinted that he would return to his duties as soon as possible.

“Given that I have been away from management for a long time, my foremost priority will be to first get a hold of the group’s current business situation,” Chey told reporters Friday upon his release.

The SK chairman was serving time for embezzlement since January 2013 in one of the longest jail terms ever given to a chief of one of South Korea’s family-controlled conglomerates, better known as chaebol.
 

During the Saturday meeting, Chey received updates on the group’s pending issues in management, examined the operational status of the government-led creative economy innovation centers and discussed ways for SK to take the lead in revitalizing the Korean economy, SK Group said.

After regaining his health, the chairman is reportedly expected to begin receiving corporate reports from the group’s key affiliates and officially return to business as early as Monday.

With Chey back in control, the country’s third-largest conglomerate is slated to step up its efforts to expand investments into the group’s core business sectors -- energy, telecommunications and semiconductors.

SK has been experiencing sluggish growth and stagnant profits over the last few years. Its total sales reached 158 trillion won ($133 billion) in 2012, 157 trillion won in 2013 and 165 trillion won in 2014.

Following Chey’s imprisonment in 2013, the group has not pursued any large-scale investments or major mergers and acquisitions, lagging in efforts to diversify its income sources and build new engines for continued growth, according to industry watchers.

Given this, the SK chairman is expected to push forward bold corporate decisions in the near future, including channeling fresh investment into the group’s cash-generating semiconductors arm SK hynix, strengthening collaboration with global energy firms like China-based Sinopec and undertaking major M&A deals in new areas.

Since the management vacuum in 2013, SK Group's total annual investments had hovered between 13 and 14 trillion won, a notable decline in comparison to some 15 trillion won invested in 2012.

Meanwhile, Chey is slated to visit some of SK’s key work sites including the SK hynix plant in Icheon, the SK Energy refinery in Ulsan and the SK Creative Economy Innovation Center in Daejeon in the coming weeks.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)