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SK Group promotes younger employees to executive ranks in corporate reshuffle

Published: 04 Dec. 2025, 17:29 Updated: 04 Dec. 2025, 19:11

The headquarters of SK Group in central Seoul [YONHAP]

SK Group cut its executive ranks and promoted a broad slate of employees born in the 1980s in its year-end reshuffle, the company said on Thursday.

The company said it convened a meeting of its top decision-making body SK Supex Council and carried out its 2026 executive appointments and organizational changes, following an October reorganization of the top management.

“We streamlined the executive structure and made a bold generational shift,” an SK official said.

SK appointed 85 new executives. The group has kept recent personnel changes relatively modest, appointing 145 new executives in 2022, 82 in 2023 and 75 in 2024.

Promotions at SK hynix stood out, with 37 appointments, as performance has weakened across the group’s telecommunications and energy businesses.

SK Telecom, which conducted its personnel changes earlier, is said to have reduced its total number of executives by roughly 30 percent.

“There were many retirements not immediately visible behind the list of promotions, which lowered the overall number of executives,” the official added.

SK said it focused on deploying young talent to the front lines.

SK hynix's headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi is seen on Oct. 29. [YONHAP]

The average age of newly appointed executives was 48.8, down from 49.4 last year. Executives born in the 1980s numbered 17, making up 20 percent of the new appointments. When expanded to those in their 40s — 54 people — the share exceeded 60 percent. The youngest new executive was Ahn Hong-beom, 42, who leads Network AT and DT (AI transformation and digital transformation) at SK Telecom.

The group also carried out organizational restructuring.

SK hynix created regional AI research centers and established a new global infrastructure division to strengthen global production competitiveness.

SK Innovation set up an AX (AI transformation) division directly under the CEO, while SK ecoplant launched an AI solutions unit by integrating its building solutions business with its energy business, including AI data centers.

“These changes will serve as a foundation for future growth at each affiliate,” the SK official said.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM KI-HWAN [[email protected]]