KB News Desk
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won bought 3,620 shares of SK hynix on Thursday, marking his first personal investment in the chipmaker and signaling confidence in its long-term prospects.
Chey purchased the shares on the open market, according to a regulatory filing. Based on SK hynix’s closing price of 1.32 million won ($921) that day, the shares were valued at about 4.79 billion won.
The purchase gives Chey a direct stake in SK hynix, with the 3,620 shares representing only a fraction of a percent of the company’s outstanding shares.
Until now, Chey had maintained indirect control over SK hynix through SK Square, the chipmaker’s largest shareholder, rather than holding shares personally.
SK Square owns about 146.1 million shares of SK hynix, representing a 20 percent stake. Including Chey and other related parties, the combined holdings of the largest shareholder and affiliated parties total about 146.13 million shares.
Chey is believed to have made the purchase as part of his broader commitment to responsible management, while expressing confidence in the long-term value of the semiconductor industry and his belief that SK hynix shares had been undervalued.
The size of the purchase was seen as enabling Chey to move quickly, as planned stock purchases exceeding 5 billion won require a 30-day advance filing under local disclosure rules.
SK hynix shares hit a record high of 2.987 million won on June 25 but have since fallen sharply, closing at 1.322 million won on Thursday, a decline of more than half in just over a month.
Chey has emphasized a long-term outlook for SK hynix.
Speaking at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Jeju Summer Forum on July 17, Chey said demand for memory chips would continue and that the company’s stock price would rise over time.
“Memory chips will continue to be needed, so the stock price will rise over time,” he said. “Rather than buying and selling repeatedly, it is better to hold on to the shares.”
