SEOUL: Top conglomerates in South Korea are set to hold strategic meetings this month to navigate the ongoing economic slowdown and geopolitical uncertainties according to industry sources.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the country’s top conglomerate in terms of assets, will kick off its series of strategic meetings from yesterday, thorugh tomorrow.

Top executives are expected to convene to discuss the company’s global strategies in key technology sectors, including artificial intelligence (AI), which touches all of its businesses, from smartphones to home appliances to chips.

The company’s smartphone and home appliance business divisions will present their mid to long-term goals and strategies.

Its chip business division will hold its meeting on June 25, the first meeting after vice-chairman Jun Young-hyun took office as the head of the division in May.

Keen attention is also being paid to the upcoming meetings as they are held after Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong’s two-week business trip to the United States.

Lee held some 30 meetings with tech chief executives officers, including those of Meta Platforms Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Qualcomm Inc.

SK Group, the country’s second-largest conglomerate, will hold its top executive meeting on Friday and Saturday, to review business plans across affiliates.

This year, the theme is known to be “going back to the basics”, the management philosophy established during the tenure of late chairman Chey Jong-hyun in the 1970s.

At the meeting, chairman Chey Tae-won, son of the late chairman, and other members of the founding family, including SK Innovation vice-chairman Chey Jae-won and SK Supex Council chairman Chey Chang-won, are expected to attend, along with other heads of SK companies.

Following chairman Chey’s recent divorce settlement ruling worth US$1bil, the meeting is also likely to discuss risk management measures.

Hyundai Motor Group, third in line in terms of assets, will convene a global strategy meeting later this month, with executive chairman Chung Euisun in attendance.

After years of aggressive expansion in the all-important US market, especially in the burgeoning electric vehicles (EVs) sector, its executives are expected to discuss strategies to navigate the Inflation Reduction Act and the post measures to the November presidential election.

Last year, Hyundai Motor and Kia hit the one million milestone in US exports, largely driven by upbeat sales of EVs and hybrids.

The executives are also expected to discuss growth plans in India and South-East Asia, the two strategic markets for the carmaker to de-risk with regards to Russia and China.

Hyundai Motor India recently filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Indian stock market, reportedly aiming to raise up to US$3bil, the largest in India’s IPO history.

LG Group, the No. 4, conducted strategic meetings for two weeks last month, with key affiliates, including LG Electronics and LG Innotek reporting their performances and sharing their business operation plans for the next half of this year.

According to news reports, chairman Koo Kwang-mo is off to the United States this week to meet with business partners, especially those in batteries, AI and biopharmaceuticals.

 - ANN