SK Group Opens Three-Day CEO Seminar to Map 2027 AI Strategy

Some 50 of SK Group's top executives opened a three-day CEO seminar on the 12th in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, with artificial intelligence strategy and cross-affiliate synergy expected to dominate an agenda that runs through the 14th.

Chairman Chey Tae-won, Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won and SK SUPEX Council Chairman Chey Chang-won are attending, alongside the chief executives of the group's major affiliates. The venue is the SKMS Institute. The format mixes internal presentations and discussions, with three to four outside speakers invited — among them Sendbird CEO John S. Kim, whose company was South Korea's first business-to-business software unicorn (a privately held startup valued above $1 billion).

What does the seminar need to decide?

Business watchers expect the agenda to mirror last year's, when AI strategy topped the discussions. The core question is how to strengthen market competitiveness by linking three pieces of the group: SK hynix's (000660.KS) semiconductor business, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM, chips that feed data to AI processors at speed); SK Telecom's (017670.KS) AI data center operations; and SK Innovation's (096770.KS) energy infrastructure.

SK Group frames the goal as becoming an "AI full-stack provider." The planned value chain spans:

• AI chips
• Data centers
• Energy
• AI services
• AI transformation at industrial sites

One wildcard sits on the agenda: U.S. politics. Market doubts are growing over the continuity of AI infrastructure investment after the Democratic Party's win in the recent U.S. midterm elections, and the group is expected to closely examine shifts in memory demand next year and the resulting business outlook.

Rebalancing done, results due

Follow-up tasks tied to the business rebalancing and operational improvement drive pursued since Chey Chang-won took office are also seen as key agenda items. The group has spent years responding to global economic uncertainty by selling non-core assets, cutting the number of subsidiaries and concentrating resources on core areas with high growth potential.

This year's restructuring included SK Inc.'s sale of its stake in SK Siltron and SK Innovation's absorption of SK IE Technology. With the bulk of the rebalancing complete, the seminar is expected to shift from portfolio surgery to delivering tangible results. One candidate for detail: the AI infrastructure construction strategy at SK Ecoplant, which SK Inc. recently decided to turn into a wholly owned subsidiary.

New faces, oil headwinds

Executives who joined through last month's management reshuffle are attending as well. The group earlier moved Chung Seung-il, president in charge of future growth at SK Inc., into the chief executive post at SK Innovation — and he inherits a rough brief.

Oil price volatility from the conflict in the Middle East and a global slowdown are expected to persist next year. The agenda, accordingly, is likely to cover:

• Petrochemical restructuring
• Expanded energy storage system orders at SK On
• Liquefied natural gas power generation
• Upgrades to power solutions

Three days, one venue, and the group's 2027 playbook. The output that matters is whether SK can convert an HBM lead, telecom assets and an energy arm into a single AI stack — before the investment climate it depends on turns.