April 24, 2024

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SK Group Executive Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won (SK Group)

Speculation is growing over the possibility of SK Chairman Chey Tae-won’s younger brother, Chey Jae-won, returning to management to take the helm of the group’s refining and petrochemicals unit, SK Innovation, according to industry sources on Nov. 29.

The junior Chey, who served a 3 1/2-year jail term for embezzlement that started in 2014, faced employment restrictions for five years.

Chey Jae-won, who holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Brown and a master’s degree in materials science from Stanford, was deeply involved in SK Group’s burgeoning battery business. He was the one who noticed the potential of the electric vehicle business early on and recommended that his older brother invest aggressively in the field.

Even though SK Innovation recently split off its battery business into SK On, he is likely to lead the parent company, sources said.

Despite his employment restrictions, the junior Chey has had a presence around the company as he has attended the group’s key battery events in recent years. He was present when his brother met with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun last year at SK Innovation’s battery plant in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province. He also accompanied the SK chairman on his US trip earlier this year to check the group’s investment status there, and took part in the groundbreaking ceremonies for SK Innovation’s battery plants in Hungary and the US state of Georgia.

Still, some observers predict that the younger Chey might return to SK E&S, the group’s natural gas and hydrogen business unit. SK E&S is the only SK Group affiliate where he has maintained an official post as an unregistered representative.

The incumbent chief executives of SK Innovation and SK E&S are Kim Jun and Choo Hyeong-wook.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)