SKC appointed Kim Jong-woo (김종우) as its new chief executive and held a shareholder briefing after its annual meeting to disclose its business status and investment plans directly.

SKC said it held its 53rd annual general meeting of shareholders and a board meeting on March 26 at its headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. Kim, appointed as the new CEO, previously served as SKC head of strategy and as chief executive of an investment portfolio company. The company described him as the person to strengthen fundamentals in existing businesses and establish new businesses such as glass substrates.

Kim personally attended the shareholder briefing immediately after the meeting to disclose the management status. He presented "stability, recovery and growth" as three core missions and explained specific investment plans and measures to improve the financial structure.

Of the 1 trillion won raised through a rights offering, about 590 billion won will be invested in the glass substrate business, Absolics. SKC will allocate about 470 billion won for capital expenditure and about 120 billion won for operating expenses to speed up commercial production at its Georgia plant in the United States, cooperation with global partner AMAT, and equipment upgrades. The remaining about 410 billion won will be used to repay borrowings. The plan is to lower the debt ratio, currently at about 233 percent, to 142 percent to improve its credit rating and secure capacity for future investment.

SKC also disclosed a turnaround roadmap for existing businesses. It plans to restore profitability in its copper foil business through cost structure improvements centered on its Malaysia plant, and to maintain a high-profit trend in semiconductor materials by expanding its Vietnam plant and increasing sales of high-value test sockets for HBM.

At the shareholders meeting, Park Dong-joo (박동주), chief financial officer, was appointed as an inside director. Park, a finance expert who worked on investment and portfolio planning at SK Corp, was appointed head of SKC's finance division at the end of last year. The company said two independent directors whose terms had expired were reappointed after considering their expertise and contributions to the board.

At the board meeting held immediately after the shareholders meeting, independent director Chae Eun-mi (채은미) was reappointed as chair of the board. Chae, a former first Korean country head of FedEx Korea, has performed the board's oversight function based on expertise in labor affairs and global management experience.