Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, was recently joined by his brother, Chey Jae-won, who became a full-time non-registered executive at SK Telecom. As SK Telecom accelerates its transition into an artificial intelligence (AI) company, industry interest is growing about the potential synergy from Vice Chairman Chey's joining. The industry expects Vice Chairman Chey to take on a role overseeing the group's AI-based information and communications technology (ICT) at the SK Management Economic Research Institute under SK Telecom, which functions as the think tank for SK Group. In particular, there is growing anticipation that the new businesses SK Telecom is pursuing, such as AI-based autonomous driving solutions, will gain momentum.
According to the telecommunications industry, Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won was registered as a non-registered executive in the role of vice president at the SK Management Economic Research Institute under SK Telecom on the 11th. His brother joined SK Telecom three years after Chairman Chey Tae-won took on the position of chairman as a non-registered executive in 2022. Currently, Vice Chairman Chey oversees roles at both SK Group and SK Innovation and has experience in various capacities, including head of the strategic support division at SK Telecom and chair of the board.
SK Group noted that three years ago, when Chairman Chey Tae-won took office as chairman of SK Telecom, he explained, "If SK Telecom succeeds in AI innovation, the deep change across SK Group's ICT business could be further accelerated, resulting in the decision to act as a supporter of SK Telecom." Chairman Chey has often emphasized that "AI is the future breadwinner of SK Group." To this end, SK Group is focusing its investments in three major areas: AI semiconductors, AI data centers, and AI services, with plans to invest a total of 80 trillion won by 2026.
With Vice Chairman Chey's joining, expectations have grown that SK Telecom will play the role of an AI control tower for SK Group. Recently, SK Telecom's expansion of its AI division has also supported this.
In March 2021, Chairman Chey created an artificial intelligence strategy task force (TF) called "Apollo" in SK Telecom to take on the control tower role in applying AI across the group's ICT sector, including SK hynix and SK Square. The organization was subsequently institutionalized and is currently operated under the name "A.Dot Business Division." The AI division, which had only one unit three to four years ago, increased to four units—"A.Dot Business Division," "GPAA (Global Personal AI Agent) Business Division," "AIX Business Division," and "AI Data Center Business Division"—through an organizational restructuring last December.
Some industry insiders suggest that Vice Chairman Chey's experience as CEO of SK On, where he successfully secured orders from global automakers such as Ford, Volkswagen, and Daimler Group, will aid SK Telecom's efforts to enter the global market for AI-based autonomous driving solutions.
A source from the telecommunications industry stated, "SK Telecom's AI new businesses may expand in the global market with autonomous driving-specific semiconductors 'SAPEON,' AI data centers capable of processing autonomous driving data in real-time, and AI-based autonomous driving solution services. To achieve this, business cooperation with global automakers is necessary, and it seems that Vice Chairman Chey's experience aligns with this direction."
SK Telecom began a project to enhance AI autonomous truck technology in cooperation with the autonomous truck startup Mas Auto in October 2023. In 2017, it signed a strategic agreement with NVIDIA to develop autonomous vehicle technology. Through this agreement, the two companies have pursued cooperation in various fields, including the production of 3D high-definition maps (HD Map), 5G vehicle communication (V2X), and autonomous driving platforms.
Meanwhile, SK Telecom did not specify its position on the significance of Vice Chairman Chey's joining.