SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won: 'Dozens of my avatar agents will work and communicate on my behalf'

SK Group's inaugural '2026 New Icheon Forum' wraps up Saturday

Executives and staff hold intensive discussions on AI transformation

Chey proposes 'one agent per person' initiative

'Fundamentals and execution must be solid to meet future challenges'

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 urged executives and employees to accelerate AI transformation by adopting a "one AI agent per person" model.

According to SK Group, Chey made the call at the "2026 New Icheon Forum" held at the SKMS Research Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, from Thursday through Saturday. The forum centered on the theme "Disruptive Innovation Driven by AI: The Great Shift to AX-Centered Management."

Chey said the first step in AI transformation, or AX, is "knowing exactly what we are doing," adding that "precisely defining our work and determining what to innovate through AI, and how, is what matters." He said employees must consistently accumulate data to build a foundation for identifying and addressing problems in real time.

He called for a shift "from 'my AI' to 'our AI,'" proposing that every employee be assigned a dedicated AI agent. "More than 90 percent of our people are already using AI, but we need to go beyond personal use — we need AI that connects what individuals do to the performance of the entire organization, AI that truly helps with 'our work,'" he said.

Chey added that he plans to create not just one agent but countless ones to communicate with executives and employees across SK's affiliates. "Dozens of chairman avatars will go into each company, listen, and work and communicate alongside other agents," he said.

Chey also defined the essence of AX as "operational improvement," saying it is "the best tool for strengthening our ability to execute." He said the capacity to break through challenges and seize future opportunities "ultimately comes from operational improvement capabilities," and called on the group to use AX-driven operational improvement to sharpen its fundamentals and execution.

Chey also outlined his view of how the AI era will unfold. He said the current phase has been driven by the semiconductor industry — particularly memory chip technology — but that a sweeping transformation in energy, data centers and communications networks will soon follow to meet surging global demand for AI computing power. A diverse range of intelligence-generating application industries will expand further down the line, he added.

"Few companies have a full-stack capability covering memory chips for the AI era, data center infrastructure, the energy to support it, and electrification," he said. "SK's business portfolio has what it takes to lead the AI age."

Chey also pressed executives to maintain a sharp sense of urgency. "If we do not execute a full-throttle, all-fronts AX right now, the golden opportunity before us will not come around again easily," he said.

Chey has placed AI at the center of the Icheon Forum's agenda since 2019. This year's forum was the first in which top executives and working-level staff spent all three days focused exclusively on AI. SK executives reached a consensus that "business processes themselves must be fundamentally redesigned," and that management must lead the transformation while moving quickly to implement and scale AX.

The forum also featured AI-powered virtual panel agents. An AI agent named "Sky" delivered real-time summaries of executive discussions, while an AI panel composed of a consultant, a senior executive and an employee in their 50s took part in panel discussions. SK Group said it will use the outcomes of the forum to accelerate the AI transformation among both executives and staff.

keg@heraldcorp.com