Chey Tae-won: “If I went back to my 20s, I’d definitely start a business” ... Sets out a vision for future talent in the AI era

[Financial News] Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stressed to young people the importance of taking on challenges to solve social problems. He predicted that in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), the ability to define and solve problems independently would become more important than simply finding predetermined answers.
According to SK Group on the 18th, Chey appeared on Season 6 of EBS’s Great Minds, which aired from the 12th to the 16th, and gave lectures on the theme “AI, a New Capitalism and Young People.” He was the first Korean business leader to appear on the program, delivering three lectures and taking part in two conversations with young people.
In the final broadcast, Chey was asked what he would want to take on in the AI era if he could return to his 20s. He replied, “First of all, I’d definitely start a business.”
He added, “It wouldn’t be a startup in semiconductors like what I’m doing now,” and said, “I would use every means at my disposal to solve the most difficult problems facing South Korea or humanity, or problems affecting a large number of people who are suffering.”
He cited water scarcity, carbon emissions and food shortages as specific examples. “If these problems were difficult to solve using existing methods, I’d look for ways to supply food, even if that meant developing new farming methods or artificial food,” Chey said. “I think I’d probably be taking on problems like those.”
He advised young people to start with problems that interest them rather than setting grand goals. “There’s no need to try to solve a huge problem right from the start. Solve small problems within your reach first, and as those experiences build up, you can develop increasingly bigger solutions,” he said.
He predicted that AI could change both how people choose their careers and how they work. “Until now, we’ve thought of a job as working for a set amount of time at one company in one occupation, but AI could change that concept,” Chey said. He explained that if AI allowed someone to finish in one or two hours a task that used to take eight, they could use the remaining time freely or choose to do something else.
He also stressed that education should shift away from a focus on transmitting knowledge and testing, and toward building experience in solving problems. “Schools should become places where students find new ways to solve problems, take on challenges themselves and experiment,” Chey said. “What matters more than the college diploma itself is having experience solving real problems.”
On the role of leaders in the AI era, he said, “It’s important to use AI to define and solve directly the problems facing organizations and society.” He added, “AI is a tool that enhances intelligence, but intelligence isn’t the same as wisdom,” and stressed that “to solve problems, ultimately you have to understand people and get them moving.” His emphasis was on the ability to judge for oneself what needs to be solved and work with others, beyond simply using AI.
He identified four abilities young people should develop: the power to think, empathy, the muscle of adaptability and body skills. “If you wait until you’ve put every safeguard in place to avoid failure, you may actually fall behind the pace at which AI is evolving,” he said, urging them to build resilience so they can get back up after failure and take on challenges again.
In earlier lectures, he proposed an economic ecosystem that rewards achievements in solving social problems, ways to secure national competitiveness in the AI era, and Korea-Japan economic cooperation. He introduced the Social Progress Credit (SPC) experiment, which measures and rewards achievements in solving social problems, and identified “3S”—Speed, Scale and Safety—as key requirements for AI competitiveness. Regarding Korea-Japan economic cooperation, he mentioned the potential for collaboration in energy, AI, healthcare, tourism, and ventures and startups.
Chey said, “If you young people also put forward new ideas and think things through together, we can make Korea’s future bright.”
[email protected] Park Ji-yeon Reporter