SK Innovation
SK Innovation Co., Ltd. is an intermediate holding company of SK Group engaged in petroleum, alternative energy, and oil exploration. It runs its business through six major subsidiaries, including SK Energy, SK Geo Centric, SK On, SK Incheon Petrochem, SK IE Technology and SK Earthon.
History
SK Energy was established in 2007 by splitting South Korea's top refiner SK Corporation into an energy operation and holding company. SK Energy handled the energy and chemical businesses, while SK Holdings was in charge of investing in subsidiaries and the life science sector.SK Innovation was created through a restructuring of SK Energy in 2011. The original SK Energy has renamed itself SK Innovation after spinning off its oil refining, lubricants, and chemical businesses. In the beginning, SK Innovation has set up three fully owned units, including SK Energy, SK Lubricants, and SK Global Chemical. After two years, SK Innovation spun off SK Energy's Incheon refinery complex and oil trading division and launched SK Incheon Petrochem and SK Trading International.
On March 31, 2017, SK Innovation said that the electric vehicle battery plant it had in China had been closed since January of that year, after "Chinese joint venture partners halted production for no obvious reason." On March 21, 2018, SK Innovation announced the acquisition of U.S. shale oil and gas company Longfellow Nemaha.
In 2019, the company decided to spin off its material division and established SK IE Technology.
On 1 October 2021, SK Innovation officially completed the spin-off of its battery business, which is called 'SK On'. In the first half of 2022, SK On is ranked fifth in the world with a market share of 7 per cent according to SNE research. In September 2021, Ford Motor Company and SK Innovation announced a joint venture to manufacture batteries in Kentucky and Tennessee for Ford vehicles.
On 11 December 2025, SK said that it has decided to end its joint venture with Ford.
Corporate governance
| Shareholder | Stake | Flag |
| SK | 34.45% | |
| National Pension Service | 7.14% | |
| Employee Stock Ownership Association | 1.10% |
Subsidiaries
| Subsidiary | Revenue | Stake |
| SK Energy | 43,625.4 billion | 100% |
| SK Incheon Petrochem | 10,116.5 billion | 100% |
| SK Geocentric | 11,337.2 billion | 100% |
| SK IE Technology | 319.9 billion | 61.2% |
| SK On | 8,469.6 billion | 89.5% |
| SK Earthon | 175.7 billion | 100% |
In January 2011, the SK Innovation system was launched, with the oil and chemical businesses spun off. In July 2013, the company restructured into an independent management system, dividing into two business units—E&P and B&I —and five subsidiaries: SK Energy, SK Global Chemical, SK Lubricants, SK Incheon Petrochem, and SK Trading International. On October 1, 2021, the remaining two business units—batteries and oil exploration—were spun off into SK On and SK Earthon, respectively.