[Reporter’s Notebook] The Conditions for "Members' Happiness" as Defined by SK

In a recent management lecture given by a senior executive at SK, the words that repeatedly came up were "members" and "happiness." SK uses the term "members" instead of "employees." This reflects a deeper meaning: not simply labor bound by an employment relationship, but members of a community who create corporate value, regarded as the purpose of management rather than a means. The executive repeatedly emphasized that SK’s primary goal is the happiness of its members, and that thanks to constant communication, there is almost no conflict with the labor union.

Even in the SK Management System (SKMS), which is the first thing SK members learn after joining, it is clearly stated that "the ultimate goal of SK management is the happiness of its members." This aligns with the "human-centered management" principle advocated by the late former chairman Chey Jonghyun when it was established in 1979. People-oriented management has long been a core value that SK has emphasized.

The executive was asked about the gap between the group’s active business sales and the happiness of its members. The response was a general explanation: "It is group-level rebalancing to respond to new environments." However, the words "members" or "people," which had been stressed for two hours, were absent from the answer.

This became clearer when observing recent events at SK Siltron. It was evident that rebalancing took priority over the members. The Siltron labor union has for several months been demanding job security and the sharing of information regarding the company’s sale process. The sale directly affects their livelihoods, but the answers provided to the members remain vague. They have even hinted at the possibility of the first-ever strike.

Some members of SK affiliates undergoing intense rebalancing have said, "The company feels like a private equity fund." When a particular affiliate is rumored to be up for sale in the market, the official position is usually the same: "In the process of group-level rebalancing, all possibilities for affiliates are open. Nothing has been decided yet." Whenever the name of an affiliate appears in news articles about a potential sale, members of the company are left confused as to whether they are the "subject of happiness" described in SKMS or simply part of a portfolio that can be replaced at any time.

For companies engaged in diverse businesses, change and business restructuring may be inevitable. However, as information asymmetry grows during these processes, members inevitably become anxious. This undermines both productivity and trust within the organization.

If the happiness of members, as advocated by SK, is to be more than a declarative value, what is needed is not grand philosophy. Rather, it is to reduce information asymmetry during mergers and acquisitions and to ensure at least a minimum level of predictability regarding jobs and the future. The role of communication, which the group emphasizes, seems more critical than ever.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.