Chey Tae-won, the chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and SK Group, recently emphasized that our society is facing a significant period of upheaval, and corporations must actively engage in solving social issues to achieve sustainable growth.
On the 11th, Chey noted during his remarks at the 'ERT Members Day' event hosted by the Entrepreneurship Roundtable (ERT) that "currently our society is facing a 'triangular wave' of changes in the trade environment, inflation, and artificial intelligence (AI)." He added, "While our corporations must pursue economic value amidst many challenges and crises, they must also make efforts to solve social issues to do so effectively."
ERT is the coalition established by the KORCHAM in 2022 to engage corporations in addressing social issues, and currently more than 1,750 corporations are participating. The event, held for the second consecutive year, was attended by Chey, along with Park Seung-hee, president of Samsung Electronics, Lee Hyung-hee, chair of SK Communications, Kim Dong-wook, vice president of Hyundai Motor, Park Jun-sung, vice president of LG, and James Kim, chair of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM).
Chey stated that, as this is an era of change and uncertainty, a new approach is needed for solving social issues, and he presented three ideas related to Operation Improvement (OI).
He argued that there is a need to prioritize social issues and approach them more systematically. He emphasized that it is essential to analyze what the most urgent problems are and to formulate solutions based on objective data.
The necessity for an appropriate compensation system was also mentioned. Chey said, "In the past, there was a strong perception of simply being praised for doing good, but in reality, a new type of reward system is necessary," adding that "if the concept that solving social issues benefits corporations is established, the social ripple effect will be significant."
Chey also emphasized the need to focus on the 'Relationship Value' where solidarity and cooperation among various stakeholders are exhibited. He expressed that "if corporations act alone, the effect is limited, but when all stakeholders, including the government, civil society, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and consumers, come together, synergies will be created, resulting in significant changes from small attention and efforts."