It is time to embark on a 360-degree, full-speed AX—AI transformation. It is important to define our work precisely and decide what and how we will innovate through AI.
Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, said this at the 2026 New Icheon Forum (the forum), held at the SKMS Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, on the 11th to 13th, urging executives and employees to execute AX swiftly. This year's forum ran under the theme "the disruptive innovation AI will bring, a major shift to AX-centered management."
As a concrete execution plan, he proposed introducing "one person, one agent." He said, "We must evolve from 'my AI' to 'our AI,'" adding, "More than 90% of our members are using AI now, but we need AI that goes beyond personal use to connect what we do to organization-wide performance, AI that truly helps with 'our work.'"
He continued, "I, too, will create not just one but countless agents to communicate with each corporation's executives and members," adding, "Dozens of chairman avatars will enter each company to listen, work with other agents, and communicate."
Chey defined the essence of AX as "operation improvement (O/I)." He said, "Every process of defining what we do and changing how we work is O/I," and ordered, "Since the power to break through countless challenges and respond to future opportunities ultimately comes from O/I capability, we must solidify fundamentals and execution through AX-based O/I."
Chey assessed SK Group's competitiveness while forecasting the global AI industry. He said a major shift is underway in energy, data centers, and networks to meet global demand for AI computing power, and predicted that various application industries that generate intelligence will grow in the future.
Chey said, "Few corporations possess a full stack of what is needed in the AI era, from memory to data center infrastructure and the energy and electrification capabilities to support it," adding, "SK's business domains have what is needed to usher in the AI era."
Since 2019, Chey has made AI a key agenda at the Icheon Forum and has emphasized innovation. This is the first time the forum held intensive discussions on a single AI topic for three days.
At the forum, virtual panel agents using AI stood out. An AI agent named "Sky" delivered real-time summaries of executive discussions, and an AI panel composed of a consultant, an executive, and a member in their 50s participated in real time alongside frontline employees in the panel discussion.
An SK Group official said, "This forum was a meaningful occasion where the strategic vision of management and the voluntary will to execute of members across the company came together to establish the group's AX direction," adding, "Based on the discussions, management and members will work together to accelerate the grand AI transition."