SK On takes home 'Model Sharing Practice Award' following last year's 'Innovative CSR Practice Award'

Kim Sung-sik, head of SK On's European operations (right), and Ambassador to Hungary Park Chul-min pose for a photo at the 2nd CSR Awards for Korean Companies in Hungary, held Friday at the Korean Cultural Center in Budapest. [SK On]
Kim Sung-sik, head of SK On's European operations (right), and Ambassador to Hungary Park Chul-min pose for a photo at the 2nd CSR Awards for Korean Companies in Hungary, held Friday at the Korean Cultural Center in Budapest. [SK On]

SK On announced Sunday that it received the "Model Sharing Practice Award" at the 2nd CSR Awards for Korean Companies in Hungary, in recognition of its sustained corporate social responsibility activities in the country.

The award reflects the company's consistent track record of community-focused initiatives, ranging from hosting a music festival for people with developmental disabilities to providing local welfare support and organizing employee volunteer programs.

The ceremony, hosted by the South Korean Embassy in Hungary, was held Friday at the Korean Cultural Center in Budapest. Ambassador to Hungary Park Chul-min attended, along with representatives from major Korean companies operating in Hungary.

SK On also won at the inaugural ceremony last year, taking home the "Innovative CSR Practice Award," making this its second consecutive win.

The awards were established to identify and promote outstanding examples of CSR activities by Korean companies in Hungary, covering community contribution, environmental protection, and education and welfare support.

Kim Sung-sik, head of SK On's European operations, attended the event and presented the company's key CSR activities and achievements.

Since beginning commercial operation in Komárom, Hungary in 2020, SK On has consistently expanded its community engagement efforts. A flagship initiative is the Great Music Festival (GMF), a music festival for people with developmental disabilities.

SK On, together with its parent company SK Innovation, held the GMF in Hungary for two consecutive years in 2024 and 2025, providing a stage for local musicians with developmental disabilities to showcase their talents. A third edition is scheduled for late November this year.

The GMF is South Korea's largest music festival for people with developmental disabilities, conceived and sponsored by SK Innovation. SK Innovation and SK On established a partnership with a Hungarian association for musicians with developmental disabilities in 2023 and held the first Hungary edition in 2024. The second edition in 2025 drew about 200 attendees, including senior Hungarian government officials.

SK On's European subsidiary has also maintained community-oriented initiatives in the Komárom and Iváncsa areas, including donations to local public-interest foundations and providing daily necessities to vulnerable groups.

The subsidiary also holds plogging events and regular blood drives every six months in the Komárom and Iváncsa areas. More than 600 employees have cumulatively participated in blood donations since 2021, earning the subsidiary an honorary certificate from the Komárom-Esztergom County Red Cross in 2024.

SK On has also run battery industry vocational education programs for local students, with 800 participants completing the course to date. In recognition of these contributions, SK On received the "County's Representative Large Enterprise Award" from Komárom-Esztergom County in 2021, and in 2024 a road connecting the Iváncsa factory to an existing highway was named "SK Road."

SK On currently operates three factories in Hungary — Komárom Plant 1 (7.5 GWh), Komárom Plant 2 (10 GWh) and Iváncsa Plant (30 GWh) — giving it a total production capacity of 47.5 GWh in Europe. Komárom Plant 2 has recently maintained an operation rate of over 80 percent, sustaining stable production.

"This award recognizes the sincerity behind the CSR activities SK On has continued in order to grow together with Hungary," Kim said. "We will continue to broaden the scope of mutual growth through activities that provide genuine benefit to local communities."

Meanwhile, SK On recently signed a supply contract with L&F worth 160 billion won ($116 million) for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode materials. The company said the deal is a strategic move to secure a domestic supply chain for a key material that has been heavily dependent on China, as it expands LFP battery production for ESS use in the United States and South Korea.


likehyo85@heraldcorp.com