SK taps AI to restore founding leadership spirit

Apr 15, 2026, 09:11 am

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SK Group recreated its late founders using AI to share their leadership philosophy and entrepreneurial spirit with employees on its 73rd anniversary. /SK Group

SK Group has used artificial intelligence to recreate its late founders, aiming to revive the entrepreneurial spirit and leadership philosophy that shaped the company as it navigates a new era of uncertainty.

To mark its 73rd anniversary, SK unveiled AI-generated videos featuring its founder Chey Jong-gun and former chairman Chey Jong-hyun. The five-minute videos, released through internal broadcasting channels, were proposed and planned by Chairman Chey Tae-won.

The AI system was trained on company archives, books, and more than 3,000 voice recordings, enabling a detailed recreation of the leaders’ voices, facial expressions, and speeches. The videos highlight key moments in the group’s history, including Chey Jong-gun’s leadership in rebuilding the company in the aftermath of the Korean War and Chey Jong-hyun’s bold decision to acquire Korea Mobile Telecommunications (now SK Telecom) in 1994.

The initiative reflects SK’s effort to reconnect with its founding values—boldness and intellectual rigor—amid global economic uncertainty. The company sees these values as guiding principles behind its current two-track strategy of aggressive investment and business restructuring.

The video was first shown to top executives during a “Memorial Day” event held at Seonhyeonwon in Seoul, a symbolic site where the group’s management philosophy, known as SKMS (SK Management System), was established. Senior leaders, including Chey Tae-won and SK SUPEX Council Chairman Chey Chang-won, reportedly used the occasion to reaffirm the group’s strategic direction.

SK’s semiconductor affiliate SK hynix exemplifies this approach through continued large-scale investment. Leveraging strong earnings from high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the company is reinvesting heavily to maintain its competitive edge. Its investment 규모 increased from 6.59 trillion won in 2023 to 17.96 trillion won in 2024, and further to over 30 trillion won in 2025, driven by new facilities in Cheongju and advanced packaging plants in the United States.

Meanwhile, SK Innovation and SK Networks are strengthening financial stability through restructuring, while continuing to invest in future growth areas. SK Innovation has reduced its net borrowings significantly while maintaining investments in battery and materials businesses, whereas SK Networks is shifting toward an AI-focused holding structure after improving its debt ratio.

An SK official said, “The group’s growth—from textiles to oil, telecommunications, and semiconductors—is now entering the AI era,” adding that “the founding spirit of boldness and insight will serve as a compass in navigating a rapidly changing business environment.”

#SK Group #Chey Tae-won #AI reconstruction #corporate philosophy #SK hynix