Three SK Group professional-manager vice chairmen assigned to SK hynix, strengthening semiconductor capabilities

[Financial News] Three SK Group vice chairmen have moved to SK hynix, the group's flagship affiliate. It is unusual for three of the group's four professional-manager vice chairmen to be assigned to the same affiliate. The move is seen as a strategy to concentrate SK Group's business capabilities on SK hynix. 
According to business sources on the 18th, Seo Jin-woo, vice chairman overseeing China; Yoo Jung-jun, vice chairman overseeing the Americas; and Lee Hyung-hee, vice chairman, moved from holding company SK Inc. to SK hynix on the 15th.
All but Donghyun Jang, vice chairman of SK ecoplant, have moved to SK hynix from among the group's four professional-manager vice chairmen.
The three vice chairmen are prominent strategists and government-relations experts who have led the group's global external cooperation efforts.
Seo Jin-woo led the group's China operations after serving as president of SKT and CEO of SK Planet. Yoo Jung-jun, meanwhile, spearheaded the development of energy and battery supply chains in North America after serving as CEO of SK E&S and SK On. Lee Hyung-hee, the only executive promoted to vice chairman at the end of last year, oversaw government relations and communications across the group after serving as head of business at SKT and CEO of SK Broadband.
As semiconductors account for an increasingly larger and more important share of SK Group's business, the three experienced professional-manager vice chairmen are supporting SK hynix in establishing its management direction and corporate vision.
Around the time of the personnel changes, the three vice chairmen also began holding in-depth interviews with all of SK hynix's approximately 250 executives, including its presidents.
They are reportedly listening to difficulties at the workplace and exploring ways to improve operations. Through this process, they are developing a strategy to strengthen SK hynix's market leadership while helping enhance the executives' leadership capabilities.
The company is expected to prepare organizational changes based on the interview results and select medium- to long-term management tasks for the period after next year.

[email protected] Park So-hyun Reporter