The 28th Anniversary of Former SK Chairman Chey Jong-hyun... 'Chey's Way' Resonates in the AI Era

Full Interview Sourced from University of Chicago Library
Chairman Chey Jong-hyun Compared to Rockefeller and Watson

SKMS Blends Chicago School Economics with Eastern Philosophy
Introduced at University’s Centennial Lecture

Virtual Interview Conducted Using AI
Insights Inferred from His Quotations and Writings

'Chey's Way'

The August 1995 edition of the University of Chicago Magazine (Vol. 87), published in the United States, featured an extensive interview with the late Chey Jong-hyun, former chairman of SK Group. This publication, recently obtained by The Asia Business Daily through the University of Chicago Library, contains a detailed account of Chey's unique management philosophy as the recipient of the “Alumnus of the Year” award, as well as the success story of Sunkyong, the predecessor of SK Group, which achieved vertical integration from petroleum to textiles.

The late Chey Jong-hyun, the former chairman of SK Group. Excerpted from Volume 87, Issue 6 of the University of Chicago Magazine, published in August 1995. University of Chicago Library

From the text of Volume 87, Issue 6 of the University of Chicago Magazine published in August 1995. University of Chicago Library

The interview described Chairman Chey as the “Rockefeller of America” (referring to the founder of the University of Chicago), “Watson” (former chairman of IBM), and “Hutton” (founder of a securities firm). It noted that he created tremendous added value in petroleum, fostered a corporate culture and management style comparable to IBM, and remarked, “When he speaks, people listen,” appraising Chey as embodying all the qualities of the three most renowned and influential figures in American economic history.

On the occasion of the 28th anniversary of Chairman Chey's passing on the 26th, we spotlight his forward-looking insights based on this interview, rooted in his spirit of taking on new challenges that led to the “miracle of a resource-poor oil-producing country.”

Former SK Group Chairman Chey Jonghyun is giving a commemorative speech after receiving the Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Chicago Alumni Association. University of Chicago Library

The interior view of the Rockefeller Memorial Hall, where the late Chey Jong-Hyun, the former chairman of SK Group, received the Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Chicago Alumni Association. Photo by Hyunju Lee

Chairman Chey was a business leader known for voicing candid opinions. If it was for the sake of the country, he was forthright—even in front of the president. Chey prioritized national interest over personal gain and was said to have never hesitated to offer his honest thoughts to the president if he believed it was the right thing to do. Even after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 1997, he met then-President Kim Young-sam and straightforwardly advised that “extraordinary measures” were needed. Despite this, the president remained silent until the end, and Korea ultimately received a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The 'SKMS (SK Management System)', which Chairman Chey confidently introduced in the interview, is an original management system that forms the spiritual backbone of SK. First established in 1979, SKMS integrates the free-market economic perspective of the Chicago school with Eastern philosophy. Establishing a management system of this kind in the 1970s was unprecedented not only in Korea, but also globally.

Chairman Chey explained SKMS by saying, “I determined that Western approaches are efficient in terms of marketing and production, so I adopted them; however, Western management is not as effective when it comes to human resource utilization. For motivating employees, an Eastern mindset is more useful.” SKMS emphasizes that the core of corporate management is “people,” and that the development of the company is directly linked to the individual growth of its members.

Former SK Group Chairman Chey Jong-Hyun is introducing SKMS (SK Management System) at a forum held on November 18, 1991, as part of the University of Chicago's 100th anniversary celebration. University of Chicago Library

The Rockefeller Memorial Hall, which was awarded the Outstanding Alumni Award by the University of Chicago Alumni Association to the late Chey Jong-Hyun, former SK Group Chairman. Photo by Hyun-Joo Lee

He also introduced SKMS during a commemorative lecture for the University of Chicago’s 100th anniversary held in 1991. Chairman Chey asserted, “Sunkyong may be inferior to the world’s top companies in terms of capital and technology, but we have SKMS, so I believe we will not lag behind in competition with them.”

He credited a significant portion of Sunkyong’s success to “Can Meetings” and SKMS. Chairman Chey believed that open dialogue generated mutual understanding, and this form of communication prevented the company from experiencing any major labor disputes for more than 30 years during that period.

“Since workers must depend on management for prosperity and job security,” he said, “management, in turn, has an obligation to workers.” He emphasized, “The company must prove that it is sharing profits with its workers.”

Reviving the Spirit of Chey Jong-hyun through AI

If Chairman Chey Jong-hyun were still alive, how would he evaluate the Korean economy today? As someone who devoted himself to nurturing talent—such as establishing the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies—what advice would he give to young people living in 2026? Using artificial intelligence (AI), a virtual interview was conducted with the late Chairman Chey. The Claude Opus 5.0 model was used. Input data included “Those Who Challenge Rule the Future” (1991), a collection of Chey’s quotes published during his lifetime; “Super Excellent” (2005), which documents the growth of SK Group; and “Chey Jong-hyun, Happily Lived Because of Him” (2008), containing interviews with 100 of his acquaintances. The AI responded based on Chairman Chey’s actual remarks.

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group is experiencing taking a photo with his late father, Chairman Chey Jong-hyun, at a photo exhibition marking the 20th anniversary of Chey Jong-hyun SK Foundation Chairman, held on August 14, 2018, in the lobby of the SK building in Seorin-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. SK Supex

-How do you view SK’s initiative to measure and present social value in monetary terms?

▲In 1974, when planting trees on Indeung Mountain, I calculated the price of timber 30 years later. My aim was to provide stable funding for the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies’ scholarships through revenues from timber. I did not anticipate that, after 40 years, trees would be valued for carbon. However, because I calculated in advance, the trees remained. Good intentions without calculation do not last three years. When a company faces difficulties, such items are the first to be cut. That is why I believe the practice of measurement in monetary terms is fundamentally correct. I am the type of person who even made sure to measure the acidity of kimchi at home. Knowing that something is being done well and knowing exactly why it is successful, in numerical terms, are completely different. In the first case, if the one good performer leaves, it ends; with the second, the achievement remains. There is one thing to point out: the only true verification of numbers is whether those numbers actually lead the company to close down some businesses and expand others. Measurement that does not result in changed decisions is not measurement, but accounting. Accounting records what has been done, while measurement determines what should be done next.

-What qualities do you believe are necessary for talent in the AI era?

▲Calculating Brain Engagement has become uncertain, because now you can get answers without using your head. When you overuse your body, it resists with pain, but when your brain is no longer needed, there’s no resistance. No one can stop degeneration that faces no resistance. Therefore, the very meaning of brain engagement must change. It is not about how many answers you produce, but about how high a level your questions reach. Machines provide answers, but people determine the quality of the questions. Are we posing better questions, or are we just copying the answers provided by machines? The qualities required of talent are no different than 40 years ago. In the AI era, drive becomes even more important. Drive means thinking proactively, acting ambitiously, and tackling every task assigned with passion and persistence until the very end. AI can help with work, but it cannot replace the ability to think, to act on one’s own, and to complete things to the end. The talent required in the AI era is a person who willingly sits before problems that machines cannot solve, finds their own way, and sees things through to the end.

-Looking ahead 30 years, what will be Korea’s growth engine?

▲When the population shrinks, the only solution is to increase the brainpower each person uses. I define productivity as the result of both the physical employment and brain engagement of each member. A declining population means the total sum of physical employment decreases according to this equation. Only one variable is left. People generally use only 3% to 10% of their brains. If we can raise that to 20%, total output will remain the same even if the population is halved. This is not encouragement; this is arithmetic. I made this calculation 50 years ago and created SKMS at a time when the population was still growing. Now, with the population shrinking, this is no longer a choice but the only path forward.

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