SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won gave a speech at the 2026 Icheon Forum held in Gyeonggi-do on Saturday. Provided by: SK Group
SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won has urged executives and employees to pursue full-scale efforts towards artificial intelligence (AI) transformation in order to seize the current opportunities arising from the strong linkage between the group’s business portfolio and the AI value chain, the conglomerate announced on Sunday.
Choi made the remarks at the “2026 Icheon Forum,” an annual seminar attended by SK employees and external experts held from Thursday to Saturday.
“Now is the time to jump into full steam ahead with AI transformation efforts in every corner of our business,” said Chey. “To do this, they must first clearly define their business and determine what and how they can innovate through AI.”
He emphasized the importance of AI transformation in improving SK Group’s operational capabilities and encouraged the use of AI agents across the organization.
“More than 90% of our workforce is already using AI, but we now need AI that goes beyond individual use and truly helps teams by turning their efforts into performance across the organization,” he said.
Choi said SK Group now sees a valuable opportunity to leverage “the full stack of capabilities needed to drive technology forward, including memory chips, data center infrastructure, energy and electrification” in the company’s AI transformation efforts.
He also urged executives to maintain a strong sense of urgency, saying, “If the group fails to execute a comprehensive AI transformation at full speed, this once-in-a-generation opportunity may be lost.”
SK Group said executives agreed that the company’s business operations needed to be fundamentally redesigned in the same way “industries were transformed when energy systems transitioned from steam engines to electricity.” He also emphasized the importance of starting AI transformation efforts small and quickly before eventually scaling them up.
At the forum, AI agents were used to summarize executives’ discussions in real time, and they also participated in panel discussions.
SK Group officials said the company will accelerate its AI transformation efforts based on the discussions, and executives and employees will work together to drive the transition.
