Chey Tae-won calls for 'AI flywheel' to drive SK Group's growth cycle

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said the conglomerate must build an "AI flywheel" — a self-reinforcing cycle in which growth begets further growth — to navigate the era of artificial intelligence.

SK Group held its 2026 CEO Seminar at the SKMS Research Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, from Thursday to Saturday, with about 50 attendees including Chey, Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won, SK Supex Pursuit Committee Chairman Chey Chang-won and the CEOs of major affiliates.

In his keynote address, Chey said SK's member companies must break free from existing business frameworks and redefine themselves as AI companies. "Let us move beyond our current domains, find new roles for every member company amid opportunities we have yet to discover, and build an AI flywheel structure that connects all the way to AI services and the token economy," he said.

He added that no single company can do everything in the AI era. "It is essential to raise our capabilities and speed through open collaboration with global partners," he said.

The AI flywheel describes a virtuous cycle in which semiconductor competitiveness drives growth in the AI factory business, and that expansion in turn generates demand for energy and AI services.

Executives at the seminar agreed that all member companies must proactively identify and execute their own roles in new areas, centered on three pillars: AI semiconductors, infrastructure and energy.

On Saturday, the final day of the event, Chey followed his keynote with in-depth discussions with executives on future growth strategy, also reviewing new business opportunities and potential risk factors.

The executives agreed to continue pursuing "Portfolio Rebalancing 2.0" to strengthen the competitiveness of existing businesses, and to strike a balance between financial soundness and future investment based on cash-generation capacity.

They also decided to drive practical AI transformation — combining on-the-ground expertise with data — across the entire group to boost profitability and overhaul the way work is done.

SK hynix is advancing a smart fab by integrating AI with digital twin technology, while SK Innovation is working to improve yields using equipment and operational data. SK Telecom is also transforming productivity and the customer experience through AI-based network and service automation.