SK Group's Chey calls for 'one AI agent per person' to accelerate AI transformation

SK Group holds three-day '2026 New Icheon Forum'

Discussions focus on AI transformation, group competitiveness

AI agents summarize sessions, join panel discussions in real time

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won speaks at the 2026 New Icheon Forum held at the SKMS Research Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Saturday. [SK Group]

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has proposed introducing one AI agent per employee to accelerate the conglomerate's AI transformation, known as AX.

According to SK Group, Chey made the call at the "2026 New Icheon Forum," held Thursday through Saturday at the SKMS Research Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. The forum centered on the theme "Disruptive Innovation Brought by AI: A Full Shift to AX-Centered Management." Chey said it was time to "launch into AI transformation at full speed, across all 360 degrees."

SK Group has used the Icheon Forum since 2019 to discuss ways to strengthen global competitiveness through emerging technologies such as AI and digital transformation. This year marked the first time the entire three-day event was devoted to a single topic: AI.

Chey said the first step in AX was to "define our work precisely and understand what and how we will innovate through AI." He added that companies must build a foundation for accumulating data on a daily basis to identify and address problems in real time.

He proposed the "one agent per person" model, saying the goal was to evolve from "my AI" to "our AI."

"We need AI that goes beyond personal use — AI that connects what each of us does to the performance of the entire organization, truly helping with 'our work,'" Chey said. "I will also create countless agents myself and use them to communicate with executives and employees across our companies."

Chey defined the essence of AX as "operational improvement," or O/I.

"The strength to break through countless challenges and seize future opportunities comes from O/I capability," he said. "We must solidify our fundamentals and execution through AX-driven O/I."

The forum also featured assessments of the global AI industry outlook and SK Group's competitive position.

Chey said few companies possess full-stack capability spanning the memory chips needed for the AI era, data center infrastructure, supporting energy capacity, and electrification. "SK's business portfolio has what it takes to lead the AI era," he said.

He urged executives to maintain a sense of urgency, warning that "if we do not execute a full-scale, all-directional AX at full speed right now, the golden opportunity before us will not come around again easily."

Meanwhile, this year's forum gave a prominent role to AI-powered virtual panel agents. An AI agent named "Sky" delivered real-time summaries of executive discussions, while an AI panel composed of virtual consultant, executive, and employee personas participated alongside actual employees in live panel discussions.

An SK Group official said the forum was "a meaningful occasion where the strategic vision of management and the voluntary commitment of employees across the organization came together to establish the group's AX direction," adding that "management and employees will work together to accelerate the AI transformation based on the discussions held here."

carrier@heraldcorp.com