SK On, SK Innovation’s battery split-off, officially launched with Jee as CEO

SK Innovation said Friday it has officially carved out its battery division into a wholly owned subsidiary, SK On.

According to SK Innovation, the firm’s board of directors approved the split-off and appointed Jee Dong-seob as the chief of SK On.

Some 1,400 staff and executives who belonged to SK Innovation’s battery business will be relocated to SK On to continue electric vehicle battery, battery-as-a-service and energy storage system businesses.

Jee, a former executive of SK Telecom and the chief executive officer of SK Lubricants, was appointed as the head of SK Innovation’s battery business in 2019. Prior to that, he worked directly under SK Innovation CEO Kim Jun as the leader of e-mobility team, which derived battery business strategies.

SK Innovation recently formed a joint venture BlueOvalSK with Ford to construct three battery plants in the US with a combined capacity of 129 gigawatt-hours by 2025 to rise as the largest battery supplier in the country.

“SK On will manufacture the safest, fastest and most durable products,” Jee said.

Also on Friday, SK Innovation split off its exploration and production business into SK Earthon, which will be led by Myeong Seong, an oil expert with some 26 years of experience after joining the company in 1995. Myeong was appointed as the head of SK Innovation’s oil business in 2019.  

Based on decades of experience accumulated at oil fields, SK Earthon will expand its portfolio to areas including carbon capture and storage.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)