SK Group chairman says most valuable people in AI era will be those who connect humans and technology

SK Group Chairman and head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chey Tae-won speaks at the KBS1 documentary ″Documentary Insight - War for Talent 2″ (translated). [SK GROUP] SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said that the most valuable type of person in the age of AI will be generalists who can connect humans and AI, not specialists with deep expertise in a single domain. Chey, who also chairs the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, explained his views on how AI will reshape the ideal worker, the education system and national strategy on KBS1's “Documentary Insight - War for Talent 2” (translated), which aired on Thursday. Related Article Court rules in favor of partner of SK Group Chairman Chey in defamation lawsuit SK Group's Chey sees 'social value,' not GDP, as key to unlocking Korea's future growth KCCI chair Chey Tae-won vows sweeping reforms after inheritance tax report debacle He described the current stage of the technology as “reasoning AI,” which produces answers to the questions asked by humans, and said that an era of “agentic AI,” which makes and acts on its own judgments, will soon replace the former. “In the period [of agentic AI], the gap in ability between people who actively use AI and those who don't could grow much wider,” Chey said, adding that companies and countries, not just individuals, could be divided by how quickly and effectively they use AI. Over the longer term, he said, the arrival of human-level artificial general intelligence could actually narrow the gap between people, as everyone gains access to high-level AI and rises to a similar level of knowledge and productivity. According to Chey, that shift is why generalists will matter more than specialists. “Going forward, what matters won't be what job you hold but how you can use and connect humans and AI,” he said. “[Those] able to work across fields and design new systems through which people and AI coexist will be needed more than specialists who have only one area of expertise.” SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won delivers a keynote speech at the 2026 ERT Members' Day event at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry headquarters in central Seoul on May 20. [KCCI] As a reslt, Chey encouraged people to build what he called four “muscles” to keep pace: a thinking muscle for getting to the heart of a problem, an adaptation muscle for responding to change, an empathy muscle for connecting with others and “body skills,” which come from activities such as art and sports. “What matters is the ability to ask yourself why something is happening and what lies at the core of the problem.” He also stressed people must possess adaptability, resilience and the empathy that only humans possess — as seen with the humanities, which offers joy and comfort — to respond to changes resulting from the AI era. For the country, Chey laid out a formula he called the “3S” — speed, scale and safety — needed to become a competitive “AI nation.” Korea needs to accelerate technological development, expand large-scale AI infrastructure and investment and establish the institutional groundwork for the public to use AI safely. Chey also called for the development of “AI factories,” or large-scale infrastructure that produces AI. He further advocated the concept of “AI for All” to ensure that the technology is accessible in everyday life, as well as the creation of “AI cities,” where new technologies and policies can be tested. “AI talent doesn't simply mean engineering students,” he said. “Schools should move beyond teaching knowledge and become platforms through which students experiment with and experience ways that they can coexist with AI, so that future generations will be able to use it naturally.” SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, right, poses with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at the APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Oct. 31, 2025. [YONHAP] Chey is expected to attend GTC Taipei, which opens in Taiwan on Monday, and meet Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang there. Another meeting could follow when Huang visits Korea after the conference. This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY KIM SU-MIN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]