[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] Choi In-geun (30), the eldest son of SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won, is leaving SK E&S and joining the Seoul office of global consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

 

This is attracting attention as a typical path for third- and fourth-generation business leaders to return to the group as key executives after receiving management training through global consulting. 

 

Choi In-geun is the youngest of two children born to Chairman Choi Tae-won and Noh So-young, director of the Nabi Art Center.

 

Education and background

 

Choi In-geun was born in 1995. He graduated from elementary school in Seoul and went on to attend Iwoo School, an alternative school, instead of a regular middle school, which made him a hot topic. He suffered from juvenile diabetes as a child, and it is known that this influenced his and his family’s choice of educational and growth environment.

 

Lee Woo School is a specialized alternative school with an educational philosophy that values ​​each student’s autonomy and personality instead of an entrance exam-oriented education, and students can choose the classes they want without school uniforms or hair restrictions. It is said that the reason for going to Lee Woo School was because his mother, Director Noh So-young, judged that “there is a lot to learn in an atmosphere that encourages alternative thinking.” It is known that Choi In-geun’s favorite subject during his time at Lee Woo School was ‘farming.’

 

After graduating from Iwoo School (an integrated alternative school for middle and high school), he attended a private high school in Seoul for a while, but soon left for Shanghai, China to study abroad. After completing his language studies in China, he went on to Hawaii Preparatory Academy in the United States and graduated. Hawaii Preparatory Academy is a prestigious private boarding school located in Hawaii, United States.

 

Unlike the traditional chaebol family route of 'prestigious high school-Seoul National University (or studying abroad)-participation in management', Choi In-geun took an atypical, global growth path by going to an alternative school (Ewoo School) and studying abroad (in China and the US).

 

The experience at Ewha School influenced the development of independent attitudes such as autonomous learning, critical thinking, and embracing diverse perspectives, and it can be seen as a foundation for developing global environment adaptability and convergent thinking.

 

This is being evaluated as having had a positive impact on fostering a multi-faceted perspective and practical leadership as the next-generation owner of the SK Group.

 

University Admission and Major

 

Mr. Choi In-geun majored in Physics at Brown University in the United States. Brown University is a prestigious private Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, and is the seventh oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764.

 

Brown University is known for its liberal academic culture and innovative curriculum (Open Curriculum). Students can design their own academic roadmap without the restrictions of required liberal arts courses, which is in line with the school's tradition of encouraging creative thinking and self-directed learning. 

 

Brown alumni also include John F. Kennedy Jr., CNN founder Ted Turner, actress Emma Watson, and Nobel laureate Craig Mello. This international network and academic freedom are great assets for Brown alumni to take on leadership roles in a variety of fields.

 

Career Paths After College Graduation

 

After graduating from college in 2014, he completed an internship at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and joined SK Innovation E&S Strategy Planning Team as a new employee in 2020, where he learned management practices while being in charge of energy and new business strategies within the group.

 

Until recently, he worked at SK E&S's North American business division, 'Passkey', where he directly participated in the energy solution business and gained global business experience. Passkey, established in November 2021, is 100% owned by SK E&S's US subsidiary, and SK On's Senior Vice Chairman Choi Jae-won, younger brother of Chairman Choi Tae-won, serves as the Chairman of the Board and Chief Investment Officer (CIO).

 

He is scheduled to join McKinsey & Company's Seoul office in July 2025. This is interpreted as a move to compressively develop his capabilities as a manager through consulting work on various industries, management strategies, organizational operations, and global market analysis.

 

Business lessons and business practices

 

In the financial world, experience working at a global consulting firm is becoming a 'must-have' course for next-generation managers.

 

In fact, Choi Yoon-jung, the older sister of Choi In-geun and head of SK Biopharm’s business development division (vice president), also worked as a consultant at Bain & Company for two years before joining SK Biopharm. Jeong Gi-seon, senior vice president of HD Hyundai, Hong Jeong-guk, vice president of BGF, and Seo Min-jung, in charge of Amore Pacific, also participated in group management after gaining experience at global consulting firms.

 

Relationships with family, future prospects

 

Chairman Choi Tae-won often consults with his children about their future careers, and he maintains a special relationship with a neighbor, playing tennis with them. The business community believes that the recent transfer to McKinsey was also at the recommendation of Chairman Choi.

 

Mr. Geun-woon is preparing for the management succession by appearing with his father at official events such as SK-related foundation events and the 50th anniversary of the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies last year.

 

A financial industry insider said, “Mr. In-geun will receive full-fledged management training at McKinsey, where he will be able to acquire core competencies such as management strategy, organizational operation, and global market analysis in a short period of time,” adding, “There is a high possibility that he will return as an executive at SK Group in the future.”

 

SK children's study abroad path... Graduated from middle and high school in China, then went to the University of Chicago in the US?

 

Chairman Choi's three children all completed middle and high school in China and graduated from college in the United States.

 

Both the eldest and second daughters graduated from Beijing International School in China, and the eldest son, Geun-woon, also moved to the United States after experiencing Chinese culture and networking in Shanghai, China.

 

Choi Yoon-jung, the eldest daughter of Chairman Choi Tae-won and the head of headquarters, was born in 1989 and graduated from the Beijing International School (ISB), known as the best international school in Beijing, China, in 2008, before entering the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago in the United States. She joined SK Biopharm in 2017 and took a leave of absence in 2019 to pursue a master's degree in bioinformatics at Stanford University in the United States.

 

He was reinstated in July 2021 and promoted to executive at SK Biopharm at the end of 2023. He is the youngest executive in the group and has been appointed as an executive in just seven years since joining the company. SK Biopharm has integrated the business development team and the strategic investment team under the business development headquarters. Director Choi is leading the strategic investment team, receiving favorable reviews for his achievements in new investment and business development, including the successful completion of the acquisition of SK Life Science Labs.

 

The second daughter, Min-jeong (born 1991), also graduated from the Beijing International School (ISB) in China and entered the Guanghua School of Management (光華管理學院), equivalent to the Peking University School of Management, in 2010. After graduating, she volunteered as a naval officer candidate in September 2014, becoming the first daughter of a wealthy family to do so, and was evaluated as setting an example of “noblesse oblige.” During her time as a naval officer, she was also revealed to have served in the Cheonghae Unit and the West Sea 2nd Fleet.

 

He was discharged as a lieutenant in the Navy in November 2017, and from 2018, he joined Hongyi Investment, a top 10 investment firm in China, and worked on global M&A. After that, he joined SK Hynix as an assistant manager in 2019, and took a leave of absence in early 2022. He worked as an unpaid advisor at 'Dawn', a remote medical startup in San Francisco, USA, and did educational volunteer work at 'SMART', a local non-governmental organization (NGO).

 

In March 2024, Choi co-founded Integral Health, an AI-based healthcare startup in the United States. Integral Health partners with healthcare organizations, health insurance companies, and others to provide programs to manage psychological health.

 

Regarding the college entrance of Mr. Geun-eun, both inside and outside the SK Group, it was expected that he would go to the University of Chicago like his eldest daughter, Yoon-jeong, rather than Brown University. Mr. Geun-eun’s grandfather, the late Chairman Choi Jong-hyun, graduated from the University of Chicago with a master’s degree in economics. His father, Chairman Choi Tae-won, also completed the combined master’s and doctoral program in economics at the University of Chicago. In addition, his grandmother, the late Mrs. Park Gye-hee, also studied applied arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

 

Even former Chairman Choi Jong-hyun and Chairman Choi Tae-won met their spouses while studying abroad at the University of Chicago. The fact that Chairman Choi’s eldest daughter, Yoon Jeong, chose the University of Chicago was also due to her father’s recommendation. 

 

SK Group and business circles officials explained, “The University of Chicago, as well as Chicago itself, hold special meaning to Chairman Choi Tae-won and his family,” adding, “Although his older brother went to Brown University, he has a special connection to SK Group because three generations of his family have graduated from the University of Chicago, thanks to his eldest daughter, Yoon-jung.”