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SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won urges AI transformation across all business operations
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won urged rapid AI transformation across the conglomerate. Over 90 percent of employees already use AI, making scaling AI agents the new priority.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won urged executives to accelerate artificial intelligence transformation across the conglomerate's operations, citing a rare alignment between its existing business portfolio and the AI value chain. Speaking at the 2026 Icheon Forum on Saturday, Chey emphasized that failing to execute this transition quickly could cause the company to miss a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
Redefining organizational performance
Chey noted that more than 90 percent of SK Group employees already use AI tools individually. However, he argued that the next phase requires AI agents that scale individual efforts into organizationwide performance. "Now is the time to launch our AI transformation effort at full speed across every corner of our businesses," Chey said. "For this, we must first have to clearly define our business and determine what and how we can innovate through AI."
The chairman pointed to SK Group's existing infrastructure as a distinct advantage. He highlighted the company's control over memory chips, data center infrastructure, energy, and electrification as the necessary components to drive this technological shift.
Redesigning core operations
Executives at the forum agreed that business operations must undergo fundamental redesigns, comparing the shift to the historical transition from steam engines to electricity. They recommended launching AI initiatives on a small scale before scaling them across the enterprise.
During the forum, the group demonstrated practical AI for operations by using AI agents to summarize executive discussions in real time. These agents also participated directly in panel discussions alongside human executives.
Why this matters for operations professionals
Operations leaders should note the strategic shift from individual AI adoption to team-level automation. The focus is no longer on whether employees use AI, but on how automated tools can be integrated into workflows to improve organization-wide performance. Companies with existing infrastructure are moving quickly to redesign core processes, making it critical for operations teams to identify small-scale AI pilots that can scale across departments.