SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won delivered his 2026 New Year address emphasizing "riding the great wave of change called AI" and challenging the group to "seize the wind and break through the waves (승풍파랑)." Chairman Chey acknowledged that despite uncertain business environments, SK Group is recovering solid fundamental competitiveness through portfolio rebalancing and operational improvement (O/I). Key messages: (1) AI as reality — "AI has already entered deep into our daily lives; the path SK has quietly walked over decades — memory, ICT, energy solutions, batteries, and connecting services — was ultimately a journey preparing for today''s AI era"; (2) AI semiconductor validation — "Last year, we reconfirmed global market''s high trust in AI semiconductor field, establishing ourselves as a core partner in the AI ecosystem alongside the world''s leading big tech companies"; (3) Scale of opportunity — "The AI era has only just begun; the future market will be immeasurably larger with infinite opportunity"; (4) Integrated AI solution — SK''s competitive advantage lies in combining member companies'' capabilities across semiconductor, energy, telecom, construction, and bioscience into a comprehensive "AI integrated solution" — "AI innovation is not just a challenge for semiconductors; the accumulated business capabilities of SK member companies across energy, telecom, construction, biotech are the solid foundation sustaining the AI era"; (5) Foundation first — "We need the wisdom to solidify the essence of what SK does best, then layer AI innovation on top — create differentiated SK value by building new business models through AI-based solutions in domains where we know and perform better than anyone." The core thesis: SK''s decades-long investment in vertical integration across the AI value chain (chips, power, network, services) positions it uniquely to provide end-to-end AI infrastructure solutions that pure-play AI companies cannot match.