Chairman Chey Tae-won: "Accelerating Full-Speed AI Transformation with One Agent per Person"

SK Group's "2026 New Icheon Forum" Concludes

Three Days Dedicated to Intensive Discussion on "AX"

Chey Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, has made a bold proposal to introduce a "one agent per person" (AI assistant) system for all employees as part of the group's future mission for a major AI transformation (AX). He emphasized that in order to seize the global AI hegemony in this era of unprecedented change, everyone from the management to frontline staff must implement this at full speed.

SK Group announced on June 14 that the "2026 New Icheon Forum" held over three days from June 11 to 13 at the SKMS Research Institute in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, concluded successfully. This year’s forum was themed "Disruptive Innovation Driven by AI: A Major Transition to AX-Centric Management." Since SK Group began its Icheon Forum series to discuss innovative technologies, this is the first time the entire three-day schedule has been devoted solely to "AI" as a single topic for intensive discussion.

SK Group's '2026 New Icheon Forum' Concludes. SK Group

Chairman Chey delivered a powerful message with a sense of urgency as he closed the forum. He stated, "Now is the time to enter the AI transformation (AX) from all directions and at full speed," and strongly encouraged executives and employees by emphasizing, "If we do not act now, the golden opportunity we have may not come again so easily."

As the first step toward a successful AX, Chairman Chey proposed redefining work and establishing the "one agent per person" infrastructure. He stressed, "We need AI that goes beyond personal use and actually helps turn our work into achievements for the entire organization—AI that truly assists with 'our work.' We need to evolve from 'my AI' to 'our AI'." He also expressed his commitment to lead by example, saying, "I myself will create countless agents and communicate with executives and employees across each company."

Chairman Chey particularly defined the essence of AX as "operational improvement (O/I)." He pointed out that without the fundamental practice of meticulously collecting data, identifying, and addressing problems in real time, any AI innovation would be built on shaky ground. "The power to overcome numerous challenges and respond to future opportunities ultimately comes from O/I capabilities," he said, urging, "We must further strengthen the group’s fundamental skills and execution power through AX-based O/I."

At the same time, he expressed confidence in SK Group’s unique capabilities to lead the global market. He said, "There are very few companies worldwide that possess everything needed for the AI era in a full stack—from high bandwidth memory (HBM) to data center infrastructure, as well as the energy and electrification capabilities to support them." He evaluated, "SK’s core business areas already have every piece of the puzzle required to usher in the AI era in place."

Meanwhile, in line with the forum’s focus on technological innovation, this year's "2026 New Icheon Forum" drew attention by incorporating AI technology directly into the proceedings. A virtual AI panel agent named "Sky" demonstrated its ability to transcribe and summarize high-level executive discussions in real time. During the panel discussion sessions, AI panelists embodying various personas such as consultants, executives, and employees in their 50s interacted in real time with on-site participants through Q&A, enhancing engagement throughout the forum.

An SK Group representative stated, "This year’s Icheon Forum was a milestone event where the sharp strategic vision of the management and the voluntary execution drive of all employees combined to establish a clear AX roadmap for the group," adding, "Based on the results of these three days of discussion, we will comprehensively accelerate the implementation of the group-wide AI transformation across all affiliates."

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