Chey Tae-won (Korean: 최태원; born December 3, 1960) is a South Korean businessman and the chairman of SK Group, the country's second largest conglomerate[2] that includes 186 subsidiaries such as SK Telecom, SK Hynix, and SK Innovation. Chey has been the chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) since March 2021.[3]
Chey Tae-won | |
|---|---|
최태원 | |
 Chey in 2024 | |
| Born | 3 December 1960 Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea |
| Other names | Anthony Chey[1] |
| Education | Korea University (BS) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Title |
|
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Father | Chey Jong-hyun |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 최태원 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Choe Tae-won |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ch'oe T'aewŏn |
As of June 2021, Tae-Won is the 14th richest person in South Korea with an estimated net worth of US$3.6 billion.
Early life
editChey was born on December 3, 1960, in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea as the eldest son of Chey Jong-hyun, chairman of Sunkyung Group (now SK Group). Chey attended Korea University where he received a bachelor's degree in physics, and later studied for a PhD in economics at University of Chicago, US, but did not finish.[4][5][6] He joined SK Corp. as a manager, served as executive director of SK America, executive director of SK Corp. and vice president of SK Corp. After the death of Chey Jong-hyun, the former chairman, he took the post of SK chairman at the early age of 38 without a management dispute. It is reported that Chey Yoon-won, the son of founder Chey Jong-gun, appointed Chey Tae-won as the group leader, saying, "Tae-won is the best among our brothers."
Career
editChey has been chairman of the SK Group since 1998. Chey has held a number of leadership positions across SK's various operating companies.[7] He had been chairman of SK Innovation since 2011 and chairman of SK Hynix since 2012.[8] He has been chairman of SK Telecom since February 2022.[9] SK Group grew into South Korea's second largest corporate group during his tenure.[2]
In January 2012, Chey was indicted of embezzling over $40 million from SK companies to cover up his trading losses. He denies any wrongdoing.[10] In January 2013, Chey was found guilty, and was sentenced to 4 years in prison by the Seoul District Court.[11] He was incarcerated near Seoul until his pardon in August 2015.[12]
Chey has received a number of awards. This includes the "Global Leaders for Tomorrow" award from the World Economic Forum (1999); Co-chair, East Asia Economic Summit 2002 in Malaysia, World Economic Forum (2002); Member, Brookings International Advisory Council (IAC) (2010); Working Group Convener, G20 Business Summit (2010); and two-time President of the Korea Handball Federation (2008, 2016).[7]
In May 2022, Chey was appointed by the presidential transition team as the head of the civilian committee to support Busan's bid to host the World Expo in 2030.[13]
Personal life
editChey is married with Roh Soh-yeong, art director and daughter of former South Korea president Roh Tae-woo.[14] They have been separated since September 2011,[15] and in December 2015, he announced his intention to divorce.[16] In December 2022, the Seoul Family Court approved the divorce, and Chey kept most of his shares.[17] As part of the divorce, a court ordered Chey to pay $1 billion to his former wife.[18]
References
edit- ^ "Anthony Chey, SK Inc: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg News.
- ^ a b "SK Group jumps to No. 2 in South Korea's largest corporate groups by assets". Korea IT Times. 2022-04-28. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
- ^ "Chey Tae-won named as incoming KCCI chief". The Korea Herald. 2021-02-23. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
- ^ "< SK 최씨 일가의 대 이은 시카고大 사랑 > | 연합뉴스 : 바른언론 빠른뉴스". www.yonhapnews.co.kr. 3 April 2011. Retrieved 2016-02-13.
- ^ "Authors". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- ^ "The Investor". www.theinvestor.co.kr. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- ^ a b "Tae-won Chey, Chairman and CEO". SK. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
- ^ "Chey Tae-Won – World Policy Conference". Retrieved 2022-05-10.
- ^ "SK Group chief Chey to assume chairman post at SK Telecom". Yonhap News Agency. 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
- ^ "#8 Chey Tae-Won". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
- ^ "SKorea chaebol chief sentenced to 4 years prison - Yahoo Finance". Finance.yahoo.com. 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
- ^ "SK chairman freed from prison for special pardon". Korea IT Times. 2015-08-14. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
- ^ "KCCI chairman seeks international support for Busan's bid to host World Expo". The Korea Times. 2022-05-06. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
- ^ Jaewon, Kim (2023-09-27). "SK Group's divorce drama forces courts to weigh breaking up chaebol". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
- ^ "SK Chairman and Roh tae-woo's daughter expected to divorce : Business : News : The Hankyoreh". The Hankyoreh. 2012-06-19. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
- ^ "SK head Chey to divorce ex-president's daughter: report". English.yonhapnews.co.kr. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
- ^ 유, 청모 (2022-12-06). "Court approves divorce, property division for SK chief Chey and wife Roh". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
- ^ Kharpal, Arjun (2024-05-30). "South Korean tech conglomerate SK Inc. surges 16% after chair's $1 billion divorce settlement". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-05-30.