Says Senior Vice Chairman Choi Jae-won of SK On
By Business Editor Lee Sam-sun
Senior Vice Chairman Choi Jae-won of SK On said, "SK On is the fastest growing company in the battery industry and even if it is hard right now we should trust each other and row hard together in one direction."
Speaking at a town hall meeting held at the SK On Kwanhun Office building in Seoul on April 5, Choi stressed, "The united power of all members rather than the outstanding ability of a specific person can do a lot for the good of the organization."
According to SK On, this year's first town hall meeting was held at the Kwanhun office on the afternoon under the slogan "SK On, Drive On!"
The number of SK On members, which stood at 1,500 at the end of 2021, immediately after the launch of the independent corporation, has now soared to about 3,000. As a result, additional office spaces were set up in the Kwanhun Building and departments that moved into the Yeongpung Building were relocated earlier this month.
The three-hour event, which lasted from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., was attended by CEO Choi, SK On CEO Ji Dong-seop, COO President Jin Kyo-won and General Management Support President Choi Young-chan, as well as 400 members from Seoul, Daejeon, Jijok and Seosan operations. It was broadcast live online for members who were unable to attend the meeting.
Senior Vice Chairman Choi, who has usually worked hard in informal communication with members, held a series of other form of meetings with members in Seoul, Daejeon, and Seosan at the end of last year. Whenever there was an opportunity, he had a small tea time with the members and continued active communication.
The town hall meeting was held in a way that Senior Vice Chairman Choi answered questions collected in advance and real-time online questions.
When asked about the company's strategic direction, Senior Vice Chairman Choi said, "Usually, the manufacturing industry has been in the deficit status for the first four to five years, but we are also in the early stages of an independent corporation, so if we overcome it well, and we believe that results will be visible from next year."
Senior Vice Chairman Choi also said, "As our growth rate is surprisingly fast overseas, there will be growth pains accordingly," adding, "We will continue to look at what difficulties our members have and continue the town hall meeting like today."
When asked about SK On's strengths from the perspective of its members, Senior Vice Chairman Choi said: "SK On's future is very bright. It is the fastest growing industry. Unlike existing companies that already have their own roles, SK On members can play various roles as companies grow."
Regarding personnel and organizational management measures to strengthen competitiveness, Senior Vice chairman Choi said, "The direction is important because all of our members are rowing together in the same boat," and added, "The rowing power will be different, but we can go properly only when the direction is the same."
At the end of the conversation, Senior Vice Chairman Choi expressed his honest feelings, saying: "It is not much different from the hardships you feel such as having to have a late-night meeting with overseas businesses and getting stressed by customers."
Prior to Senior Vice Chairman Choi, CEO Ji Dong-seop shared SK On's growth strategy and business status and introduced new missions and visions. Under the mission slogan of "We Power for Green," the SK On leader stressed that it will contribute to creating a better world and a better eco-friendly future for the next generation by accelerating the transition to green energy.
CEO Ji said, "Through the vision of 'Value Beyond Expectations, 100 Plus,' SK On will constantly strive to exceed the expectations of stakeholders such as members, customers, shareholders and business partners by more than 100 percent."
Future growth strategies and profitability improvement measures were also shared in line with new missions and visions. If SK On has shown the fastest growth in the industry based on large-scale orders and rapid facility expansion so far, it plans to achieve sustainable growth based on strategies such as efficiency and stabilization of the global production system and diversification of product portfolios.