SK Business Group carried out a massive reshuffle in an effort to overcome a crisis the group is faced with. The personnel change is designed to pursue innovation by promoting young managers in their early-to-mid-50s take the helm of the group’s energy, petrochemical and telecom units, which are undergoing hardships.

President Jang Dong-hyun and President Park Jung-ho — who were tapped as the CEO of SK Telecom and SK C&C, respectively — are 51, younger than any other SK subsidiary president. Newly inaugurated SK Network Moon Jong-hoon is in his mid-50s, while President Lee In-chan, 52, who took office as the CEO of SK Broadband -- a subsidiary of SK Telecom -- was born in 1962. SK Innovation President Chung Chan-gil, 60, who concurrently serves as president of SK Energy, is the oldest amongst the new presidents. 

The exit of SK Innovation Vice Chairman Koo Ja-young, born in 1948, and SK Network President Moon Duk-gyu, born in 1952, brought the average age of the group’s four major subsidiaries -- SK Telecom, SK Innovation, SK C&C and SK Network -- from 60.5 to 54.2. 

Many of the newly inaugurated CEOs have experience in exploring new businesses beyond conventional arenas. The reshuffle may be summed up as the group’s appeal for CEOs to seize opportunities more aggressively to tide over a crisis, group officials and business sources said. 

SK Innovation President & SK Energy President Chung served as SK C&C president. At that time, Chung had been credited with expanding SK C&C’s business portfolios, expanding the focus from domestic businesses to global markets. He earned reputation for having the company enter the non-IT service arena by acquiring a semiconductor module company. 

New SK C&C President Park is one of the group’s M&A experts for his leading role in the group’s acquisition of SK Hynix. 

Park was praised for masking such achievements as expanding the second-hand car website Encar services into overseas areas, while heading SK C&C’s Corporate Development Division. 

New SK Telecom President Jang is considered to have the right stuff to explore new business areas beyond conventional ones. He has held positions related to mobile and fixed line communications, and internet content businesses. 

New SK Network President Moon had moment of truth (MOT) stints such as OK Cashback business. 

In the meantime, SK Innovation carried out a reorganization that was designed to inaugurate the chief technology officer’s office and business portfolio innovation body, a rare move by the petrochemical company to ramp up R&D. 

SK Group also reshuffled chairmen of the SUPEX Committee, the group’s management control tower. 

SK Innovation President Chung was named as strategy committee head of the SUPEX Committee, while former SK Telecom President Ha Sung-min was tapped as the ethic committee chairman. 

SK E&S President Yoo Jung-joon was picked as the global growth committee chairman, while President Lee Moon-suk, a standing councilor of the shared growth committee, was promoted to chairman of the committee. 

Ji Dong-sup, head of SK Telecom’s Strategy Planning Division, was named as the integrated secretary general of the SUPEX Committee. 

The manpower development committee chairman and communications committee chairman were retained. 

Chairman Kim Chang-geun of the SUPEX Committee concurrently serves as manpower development committee chairman. President Kim Young-tae heads the communications committee. 

The group promoted 117 executives in the reshuffle, lower than the 142 promotions in 2013, reflecting sagging groupwide business performances, group officials said.