SK Group chief tells SK hynix investors: 'Just hold onto your shares'

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won urged SK hynix investors to “hold on” rather than chase daily market swings, expressing confidence in the company’s long-term growth prospects as demand for memory chips continues to rise with the expansion of artificial intelligence.

“Where the stock price will be next month, I don’t know either,” Chey said during the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s forum on Jeju Island on Friday. “Rather than buying and selling repeatedly, simply holding onto it is a better way to preserve wealth.”

SK Group is the parent company of SK hynix, whose shares have seen sharp volatility in the local market after a steep rally fueled by the AI boom. The chipmaker recently made a high-profile Nasdaq debut with American depositary receipts, in what effectively became the second-largest US stock offering after Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Chey, who also chairs the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attributed his confidence to his long-term outlook for memory semiconductors, which are at the center of the AI boom.

“AI is still like a 4-year-old child,” he said. “But for it to grow into an adult, it will inevitably need memory.” He added that demand for memory “will only grow exponentially.”

Chey acknowledged that SK hynix’s stock price has risen rapidly as investors have embraced the AI opportunity, saying that markets sometimes move ahead of reality.

“Prices rise when the outlook improves, and they fall when it seems less promising,” he said. “Because it has risen too quickly, there are times when reality needs to catch up.”