Summary
Chey Jong-gun, the founder of SK Group, is the elder brother of Chey Jong-hyon, the second chairman of SK Group, and the uncle of Chey Tae-won, the fourth chairman of SK Group. He was born on Jan. 30, 1926, in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, as the third child and eldest son among eight siblings to parents Chey Hak-bae and Lee Dong-dae. After graduating from Suwon Sinpung Public Shim-Sang Elementary School and the Mechanical Engineering Department of Kyungsung Vocational School, he began his career as an apprentice at the Sunkyong Textile Factory, a company owned by the Japanese, on the recommendation of his father. He was quickly promoted to production team leader within six months of joining the company and eventually rose to the position of production manager. However, he left the company with the determination to start his own factory.
After the Korean War, in 1953, he took over the Sunkyong Textile Factory, where he used to work, and founded the company, thereby laying the foundation for the Sunkyong Group. He actively expanded the business from textiles to trade, petrochemicals, and other areas. Unfortunately, he passed away at the age of 48 due to lung cancer. He is the only engineer among the founders of Korea’s five major conglomerates—Samsung, LG, Hyundai, SK, and Lotte.
Timeline
▲1926 = Born in Suwon-gun (now Suwon-si), Gyeonggi Province
▲March 1936 = Enrolled in Shinpung Elementary School
▲1941 = Graduated from Shinpung Public Appellate School in Suwon
▲1941 = Entered Kyungsung Public Vocational School (now Seoul National University of Science and Technology), Department of Mechanical Engineering
▲1944 = Graduated from Kyungsung Public Vocational School, Mechanical Department
▲1944 = Acquired a third-level certificate as a machinist
▲April 1944 = Joined Sunkyong Textile Suwon Plant as a mechanical engineer (apprentice)
▲August 1944 = Appointed as the second-in-command of the production department of Sunkyong Textile Suwon Factory No. 3
▲February 1946 = Production Manager of Sunkyong Textiles
▲July 1953 = Acquired Sunkyong Textiles after the Korean War Armistice
▲August 1962 = Established Sunkyong Industry
▲1963 = Gold Tower Industrial Medal
▲1964 = Chairman of the Korea Federation of Textile Industry Cooperatives (Jilyeon)
▲1966 = Established a local polyester plant as a joint venture with Japan’s Deijin Corporation
▲June 1966 = President of Sunkyong Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd.
▲December 1966 = Presidential Food Packaging Award (Export Merit)
▲July 1967 = Sixth President of Suwon Chamber of Commerce and Industry
▲1969 = Prime Minister’s citation (for export achievement)
▲1970 = Reorganized into Sunkyong Industries, Sunkyong Textiles, and Sunkyong Fabrics and became chairman of the company
▲1970 = Prime Minister’s Citation (for export achievements)
▲1971 = Prime Minister’s Citation (Export Merit)
▲1971 = Completed graduate school of social development at Chung-Ang University
▲1972 = Established Seohae Development (now SK Forestry)
▲1973 = Acquired Walkerhill
▲1973 = Established Sunkyong Petroleum Corporation
▲November 1973 = Passed away from lung cancer
