SK Group (
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
: SK그룹, 에스케이그룹) is the second largest South Korean
chaebol
A chaebol (, ; ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group whose power over the group often exc ...
behind
Samsung Group
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
. SK Group is composed of 186 subsidiaries and affiliates that share the SK brand name and the group's management culture, named SKMS (SK Management System). It changed its name from Sunkyong Group (
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
: 선경그룹,
Hanja
Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom.
(, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...
: 鮮京그룹) to SK Group in 1998. The group is controlled by estate of
Chey Tae-won
Chey Tae-won (born December 3, 1960), also known by his English name Anthony Chey, is a South Korean business magnate. He is the chairman of SK Group, Korea's second largest conglomerate that mainly engages in energy, chemicals, telecommunicatio ...
through a holding company
SK Inc.
SK Inc. () is a holding company, holding and IT service management, IT services company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. The company is divided into Investment Division and Business Division. The Investment Division operates as a holding comp ...
The cornerstone of SK Group is its energy and chemicals division.
While its largest businesses are primarily involved in the
energy
In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...
,
petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
, and
chemical
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...
industries, the group also owns the nation's largest wireless mobile phone service provider
SK Telecom
SK Telecom Co., Ltd. ( or ) is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator and former film distributor and is part of the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebols. It leads the local market with 50.5 percent share as of 2008. S ...
, and provides services in
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...
,
marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
, local
telephone
A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
, high-speed
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
, and wireless broadband (
WiBro
WiBro (''wireless broadband'') is a wireless broadband Internet technology developed by the South Korean telecoms industry. WiBro is the South Korean service name for IEEE 802.16e (mobile WiMAX) international standard. By the end of 2012, the ...
), and also the owner of
SK Hynix
SK hynix Inc. is a South Korean supplier of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips and flash memory chips. Hynix is the world's second-largest memory chipmaker (after Samsung Electronics) and the world's third-largest semiconductor company ...
, the world's fourth largest chipmaker.
History
Formation and early production
As with many other
chaebol
A chaebol (, ; ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group whose power over the group often exc ...
s, SK Group's chairmanship was 'inherited' from father to son: from its founder the late Chey Jong-hyon to its present chairman
Chey Tae-won
Chey Tae-won (born December 3, 1960), also known by his English name Anthony Chey, is a South Korean business magnate. He is the chairman of SK Group, Korea's second largest conglomerate that mainly engages in energy, chemicals, telecommunicatio ...
(eldest son). Chey Tae-won is married to the daughter of the former South Korean President
Roh Tae-woo
Roh Tae-woo (; ; 4 December 1932 – 26 October 2021) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the sixth president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993.
Roh was a close ally and friend of Chun Doo-hwan, the predecessor leader ...
.
SK Group began when the current founders acquired Sunkyong Textiles (founded during the
Japanese rule as a joint venture between two Japanese companies, Senman Chutan and
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
-based Kyoto Orimono Company) from South Korean government as abandoned property of Japan in 1953. In 1958, the company manufactured Korea's first
polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...
fiber on company grounds. It established Sunkyong Fibers Ltd. in July 1969, and started to produce original yarn. In 1973, SK then established Sunkyong Oil, beginning a vertical integration strategy to manage production, "From Petroleum to Fibers". That same year, the company acquired the Walkerhill Hotel.
In 1976, Sunkyong Corporation received an international trading company license from the Indian government. In December 1980 SK purchased privately run Korea National Oil, making it Korea's fifth largest
conglomerate.
In January 1988, crude oil was imported for processing to Korea from
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
's
Marib
Marib ( ar, مَأْرِب, Maʾrib; Old South Arabian: 𐩣𐩧𐩨/𐩣𐩧𐩺𐩨 ''Mryb/Mrb'') is the capital city of Marib Governorate, Yemen. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of ''Sabaʾ'' ( ar, سَبَأ), which some scholars ...
oil field.
Growing up years
In June 1994, SK entered Korea's telecommunications business by becoming Korea Mobile Telecommunication Service's largest shareholder. In January 1996, SK Telecom launched Korea's first commercial
CDMA
Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communication ...
cellular phone service in
Incheon
Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...
and
Bucheon
Bucheon () is a administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Bucheon is located away from Seoul, of which it is a satellite town, satellite city. It is located between Incheon and Seoul.
Bucheon is the second ...
.
In 1998, Management re-branded Sunkyong to SK. In 1999, SK Chemicals developed third-generation (non cross resistant) platinum-complex anti-cancer agent. Also, by focusing its research and development efforts on life sciences, SK Corporation developed YKP1358, a new drug candidate for
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...
, in 2003.
In 2002, SK Telecom successfully launched the world's first commercial
CDMA
Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communication ...
1X
EV-DO
Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO, EVDO, etc.) is a telecommunications standard for the wireless transmission of data through radio signals, typically for broadband Internet access. EV-DO is an evolution of the CDMA2000 (IS-2000) standard which su ...
technology, allowing it to offer
3G telecommunications service. In 2004, SK Telecom enabled satellite
DMB DMB may refer to:
* "D.M.B.", a song by ASAP Rocky
* DMB Development, a Limited Liability Corporation based in Scottsdale, Arizona
* DaMarcus Beasley, nicknamed DMB, an American soccer player
* Dave Matthews Band, a U.S. rock band
* Del McCoury Ba ...
service by deploying the world's first DMB satellite. Moreover, in 2006, SK began revitalizing the 3.5-generation mobile phone market and in the following year, completed the construction of the national
HSDPA
High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) is an amalgamation of two mobile protocols—High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA)—that extends and improves the performance of existing 3G mobile telecommunicat ...
network. In May 2006, SK Telecom started the world's first commercial 3.5-generation HSDPA service, featuring high-quality video telephony and data transmission, and global roaming access.
In 2005, SK Networks opened China's first two wholly foreign-owned, gas stations in Shenyang. Then, after exploring Brazilian mining area BM-C-8, SK Corporation developed an oil field where it confirmed the existence of more than 50 million barrels of oil deposits.
SK Gas began developing resources overseas when it participated in two mining areas to the west of Russia's Kamchatka peninsula in March 2006. In early 2006, SK Networks also developed Ecol-Green, a
biodegradable plastic
Biodegradable plastics are plastics that can be decomposed by the action of living organisms, usually microbes, into water, carbon dioxide, and biomass. Biodegradable plastics are commonly produced with renewable raw materials, micro-organisms, ...
material. Incheon Oil officially started operations using the SK name in March 2006. SK Energy is currently engaged in 27 oil fields in 15 countries worldwide
SKC imported
propylene oxide
Propylene oxide is an acutely toxic and carcinogenic organic compound with the molecular formula CH3CHCH2O. This colourless volatile liquid with an odour similar to ether, is produced on a large scale industrially. Its major application is its us ...
(PO, a chemical used in manufacturing
polyurethane
Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic chemistry, organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethan ...
) production technology from Germany in May 2006. It is scheduled to produce 100,000 tons of PO from 2008.
At the end of 2005, SK Corp. developed a lithium ion battery separator (LiBS) for the first time in Korea, and started selling the product in 2006. In July 2007, SK Group adopted a holding company structure.
Under the re-organization, SK's main entity, SK Corporation, was split into an investment company, now SK Inc. and an operating company, now SK Energy. The subsidiary companies that now operate under the central SK Inc. umbrella include: SK Energy, SK Telecom, SK Networks, SKC, SK E&S, SK Shipping and K Power.
Recent years
In February 2017, SK acquired the polyethylene acrylic acid business of
Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world.
Dow manufactures plastic ...
for $370 million, and planned to increase battery production capacity from 1.9 to 3.9 GWh per year at the end of 2018, supplying Kia and Mercedes.
On March 31, 2017, SK Innovation said that the
electric vehicle
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...
battery plant it had in China had been closed since January of that year, after "Chinese joint venture partners halted production for no obvious reason."
On March 21, 2018, SK Innovation announced the acquisition of U.S. shale oil and gas company Longfellow Nemaha.
In February 2021, the U.S.
International Trade Commission
The United States International Trade Commission (USITC or I.T.C.) is an agency of the United States federal government that advises the legislative and executive branches on matters of trade. It is an independent, bipartisan entity that analyze ...
(ITC) banned some SK lithium-ion batteries from being imported into USA, while allowing some components for US assembly to be delivered to Ford and Volkswagen.
In September 2021, Ford and SK Innovation announced a joint venture to manufacture batteries in the Kentucky/Tennessee region for Ford motor vehicles.
In July 2022, SK Group announced a $22 billion investment in the United States semiconductor, green energy bioscience and other technology industries. In total, SK Group will invest over $30 billion in the United States by 2025.
Subsidiaries
Holdings
*
SK Inc.
SK Inc. () is a holding company, holding and IT service management, IT services company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. The company is divided into Investment Division and Business Division. The Investment Division operates as a holding comp ...
() is a
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
which resulted when SK Corporation was reorganized on July 1, 2007, into a holding company and operating company, SK Inc. and SK Energy, respectively. SK Inc. is a part of the SK Group that focuses on 4 core business interests, High-tech materials, Bio, Green and Digital. The SK Group is composed of 186 affiliate companies that share the SK brand and culture. In 2021, SK Group recorded combined revenues of $133 billion, with exports contributing $50 billion of that total. SK continues to expand its global presence, with more than 117,590 employees who work from 473 offices worldwide.
Energy & Chemicals
*
SK Innovation
SK Innovation Co., Ltd. () is an intermediate holding company of SK Group engaged in petroleum, alternative energy, and oil exploration. It runs its business through eight major subsidiaries, including SK Energy, SK Geo Centric, SK On, SK Enmove, ...
() is a South Korean enterprise formed as part of the July 1, 2007 reorganization of SK Corporation into a holding company and operating company, SK Inc. and SK Energy, respectively. In 2011, the petroleum business was spun off to become SK Energy. Simultaneously the chemical business was spun off to become SK Innovation. SK Energy was founded in 1962 as Korea's first oil refinery. In 1982, changed company name to Yukong. SK Energy is an energy and petrochemical company with 5,000 employees, KRW 23.65 trillion in sales and 26 offices spanning the globe. The company is Korea's largest (and Asia's fourth largest) refiner with a refining capacity of 1.15 million barrels per day, as of 2006. SK Energy is engaged in exploration and development activities in 26 oil / gas blocks in 14 nations worldwide.
* SKC (), headquartered in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, is the leading Korean company in chemical and film industry. SKC was founded and established in 1976 as previous name of Sunkyong Chemicals Ltd (
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
: 선경화학 (주)). SKC developed polyester films firstly in Korea, by its own efforts. With its main plant and R&D center located in
Suwon
Suwon (, ) is the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea's most populous province which surrounds Seoul, the national capital. Suwon lies about south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety". With a populati ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, it also operates large capacity of film plant in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, United States.
Information & Communications Technology
*
SK Telecom
SK Telecom Co., Ltd. ( or ) is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator and former film distributor and is part of the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebols. It leads the local market with 50.5 percent share as of 2008. S ...
()
*SK Square () is a portfolio management company.
*
SK Inc. C&C was established in 1991 and is currently one of the "Big Three" IT services companies in Korea. SK C&C has business interests across IT services, including telecommunications, banking & finance, government, public, logistics, and other fields.
Semiconductor & Materials
*
SK Hynix
SK hynix Inc. is a South Korean supplier of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips and flash memory chips. Hynix is the world's second-largest memory chipmaker (after Samsung Electronics) and the world's third-largest semiconductor company ...
() is the world's 3rd-largest semiconductor manufacturer and the 2nd-largest in South Korea after
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of ...
which is the leader in the global
semiconductor industry
The semiconductor industry is the aggregate of companies engaged in the design and fabrication of semiconductors and semiconductor devices, such as transistors and integrated circuits. It formed around 1960, once the fabrication of semiconduct ...
. SK Hynix was founded in 1983 as "Hyundai Electronics", which is the origin of its name "Hynix", and merged to SK Group in 2012 when SK Telecom became the major shareholder. The major products are
DRAM
Dynamic random-access memory (dynamic RAM or DRAM) is a type of random-access semiconductor memory that stores each bit of data in a memory cell, usually consisting of a tiny capacitor and a transistor, both typically based on metal-oxid ...
,
flash memory
Flash memory is an electronic non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for the NOR and NAND logic gates. Both us ...
, and many other semiconductor materials. While its headquarter is located at
Icheon
Icheon () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.
Together with Yeoju, Icheon is known as a center of South Korean ceramic manufacturing and is a UNESCO City of Crafts and Folk Art. Other famous local products include peaches and rice. Loc ...
,
Gyeonggido
Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...
, it also runs a large production line at
Cheongju
Cheongju () is the capital and largest List of cities in South Korea, city of North Chungcheong Province in South Korea.
History
Cheongju has been an important provincial town since ancient times. In the Cheongju Mountains, specifically in the ...
,
Chungcheongbuk-do
North Chungcheong Province ( ko, 충청북도, ''Chungcheongbuk-do''), also known as Chungbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Chungcheong has a population of 1,578,934 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Hoseo region in the s ...
.
*SK Siltron is the only semiconductor wafer manufacturer in Korea, and it has grown hand in hand with the semiconductor industry over the last 35 plus years. Armed with a record-long history of mass production and accumulated know-how, the company expands its production capacity in a preemptive manner and continues to strengthen its manufacturing and technology competitiveness. At the same time, the company is expanding its business portfolio to include emerging areas such as SiC wafers. This lays a strong foundation for SK Siltron to grow to become one of the world’s best semiconductor materials players both in production volume and profitability.
Logistics, Services & Bio
*SK Biopharmaceuticals () is a
drug discovery
In the fields of medicine, biotechnology and pharmacology, drug discovery is the process by which new candidate medications are discovered.
Historically, drugs were discovered by identifying the active ingredient from traditional remedies or by ...
and
drug development
Drug development is the process of bringing a new pharmaceutical drug to the market once a lead compound has been identified through the process of drug discovery. It includes preclinical research on microorganisms and animals, filing for re ...
company. It discovered
solriamfetol
Solriamfetol, sold under the brand name Sunosi, is a wakefulness-promoting medication used in the treatment of excessive sleepiness related to narcolepsy and sleep apnea. It is taken by mouth.
Common side effects of solriamfetol include head ...
.
*SK pharmteco is a global contract development and manufacturing organization specializing in the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), intermediates and viral vectors for cell and gene therapy for the pharmaceutical industry. SK Pharmteco operates six facilities in Europe, North America and Korea.
*SK Ecoplant is a Korean
construction
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...
company founded and established in 1977 with a previous name of Sunkyong Construction (Korean: 선경 건설), headquartered in
Gwanhun-dong
Gwanhun-dong is a '' dong'', neighbourhood of Jongno-gu in Seoul, South Korea. It is a legal dong (''beopjeong-dong'' ) governed under its administrative dong (''haengjeong-dong'' ), Jongno 1, 2, 3, 4 ga-dong.
The area is bordered by Anguk-dong ...
Jongno-gu
Bosingak bell pavilion
Jongno District () is a district () in central Seoul, South Korea. It takes its name from a major local street, Jongno, which means "Bell Road".
Characteristics
Jongno District has been the center of the city for 600 yea ...
, Seoul. Its brands include SK View, SK Hub, and Apelbaum. The company's CEO is Ki Haeng Cho. Industries: Oil & Gas, Petrochemical, Power, Environmental Protection, Industrial, Civil, Building, Housing. Services:Feasibility Study, EPC Service, Project Management, Operations & Maintenance.
Management system
SK's subsidiary companies all operate under the SK Management System (SKMS) which was developed, articulated and enhanced by SK's Chairman,
Chey Tae-won
Chey Tae-won (born December 3, 1960), also known by his English name Anthony Chey, is a South Korean business magnate. He is the chairman of SK Group, Korea's second largest conglomerate that mainly engages in energy, chemicals, telecommunicatio ...
.
On April 7, 2008, SK Group launched a marketing and management company named "SK Marketing & Company" to pursue Chairman Chey's vision.
See also
*
Chaebol
A chaebol (, ; ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group whose power over the group often exc ...
*
Economy of South Korea
The economy of South Korea is a highly developed mixed economy. By nominal GDP, it has the 5th largest economy in Asia and the 13th largest in the world. South Korea is notable for its rapid economic development from an underdeveloped nati ...
*
H.A.V.E. Online
''H.A.V.E. Online'' is a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) third-person shooter cartoon-style video game. It is developed by Korean developer SK iMedia, SK imedia. There were several versions of these games. The first version was hosted in ...
*
Fallen Age Fallen Age is a cancelled massively multiplayer online role-playing game
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.
As in ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sk Group
Chaebol
Companies listed on the Korea Exchange
Conglomerate companies established in 1953
Conglomerate companies of South Korea
Electric vehicle battery manufacturers
Manufacturing companies based in Seoul
Multinational companies headquartered in South Korea
Non-renewable resource companies established in 1953
Oil companies of South Korea
Petrochemical companies
South Korean brands
Technology companies of South Korea
South Korean companies established in 1953
Manufacturing companies established in 1953