SK Group (034730.KS) is expected to move up its annual presidential-level reshuffle to October for a second straight year, and Chey Chang-won, chairman of the group's SUPEX Pursuit Council and vice chairman of SK Discovery (006120.KS), is likely to keep his post, according to people familiar with the matter. The SUPEX Pursuit Council is the top consultative body for all SK affiliates and serves as the group's control tower. Chey, a cousin of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, has led the group's rebalancing drive since taking the chairmanship in late 2023.
SK Group will carry out the reshuffle as early as this month, business sources said on the 18th. The group previously announced presidential appointments in early December but moved the timing forward by more than a month last year, to Oct. 30. Some expect the announcement in the middle or latter half of October this year, on the view that a new management lineup should be in place to discuss next year's business plans at the three-day CEO seminar scheduled for Nov. 12-14.
The SUPEX chairmanship had drawn the most attention. At one point there was speculation that the "cousin management" structure built by Chairman Chey Tae-won and Chey Chang-won could give way to "brother management" between the chairman and Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won, and that one of the group's four professional-manager vice chairmen — Yoo Jeong-joon, Suh Jin-woo, Lee Hyung-hee and Chang Dong-hyun — could be elevated to the post. More recently, however, the view that Chey Chang-won will stay on has regained ground amid the chairman's steady confidence in him, according to internal accounts.
Since becoming SUPEX chairman in December 2023, Chey has spent about three years pushing aggressive portfolio rebalancing and balance-sheet repair, and is credited with reshaping the group's fundamentals. SK Group's debt-to-equity ratio, which exceeded 145% in 2023, fell to 86% in the first quarter of this year, according to Korea Ratings. Net borrowings shrank to 22 trillion won from 84 trillion won, and the number of affiliates to 151 from 219. In late July, SK Inc. agreed to sell its 70.6% stake in SK Siltron, the country's only semiconductor wafer manufacturer, to Doosan Group for 2.3 trillion won ($1.6 billion), effectively wrapping up another trillion-won deal.
Building on those results, Chey is expected to take the "next step" toward reorganizing the group around artificial intelligence. "The chairman will focus on external activities such as expanding cooperation with global big tech and building an AI ecosystem, while the vice chairman handles the internal side, including redeploying group assets where they are needed most," one industry official said. "That division of roles is likely to continue."