Stakeholder Communication
SK Networks defines all entities that directly and indirectly impact and are affected by our management activities as our stakeholders. Stakeholders include customers, employees, suppliers, the government, shareholders/investors, and local communities. We aim for successful communication with our stakeholders through various engagement channels. By conducting surveys to collect stakeholders’ opinions on our sustainability management policies, we are committed to actively integrating them into our management activities.
Stakeholders Channels, Issues and Response Roadmap
Stakeholders | Engagement Channels | Key Issues | Short-term Plan(2023) |
Mid-term (2024 ~ 2026) |
Long-term (2027) |
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Employees |
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Suppliers |
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Shareholders/ Investors |
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Local Community |
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Shared Growth with Suppliers
- 3 Key Strategies for SK Networks to Grow Together with Suppliers
- Providing Fair Opportunity and Maintaining Procedural Transparency
- Declaring ethical purchase
- Continuously searching for suppliers and providing fair trade opportunities
- Ensuring procedural transparency of fair trade throughout supplier selection - contracting – payment settlement
- Enhancing the Cooperation System for Shared Growth
- Building communication channel and listening to VOC
- Discovering projects for shared growth
- Selecting suppliers with good ESG/SRM assessment results and enhancing the cooperation
- Improving Suppliers’ Competitiveness
- Creating Shared Growth Fund
- Preparing support programs for suppliers
*SRM : Supplier Relationship Management
Fair Opportunity and Procedural Transparency
SK Networks' supply chain management performance is reported to the Strategy∙ESG Committee under the Board of Directors, which deliberates on key issues. To ensure the appropriateness of supplier selection and maintain fairness and transparency in purchasing activities, we operate a Purchase Deliberation Committee. The purchasing department convenes the committee to deliberate on applicable purchase transactions*.
* Purchases subject to deliberation include direct contracts worth KRW 500 million or more and competitive bids worth KRW 1 billion or more


* Head of Strategy Planning Division, Head of Corporate Culture Division, Head of Sustainability Management Division
Support for Business Partners’ Employee Training
In 2024, SK Networks encouraged active participation from business partners by providing online ESG training and funding for training expenses. We expanded our educational content beyond the existing human rights and ethics courses implemented in 2022 to include environmental issues, anti-corruption, and the four major statutory training programs. This initiative aimed to alleviate the educational burden on business partners and support their participation in ESG management. In 2024, 132 employees from 21 business partners voluntarily participated, completing a total of 411 courses (100% completion rate). Moving forward, SK Networks is committed to continuously realizing the value of mutual growth by developing and providing diverse and effective training programs to our business partners.
Protection of Our Partner Companies’ Information
Information is the most critical asset for business survival. SK Networks respects the intellectual property rights and trade secrets of our partners and does not force them to pass over technical data or use intellectual property rights when selecting or transacting. Going forward, we will all the more strengthen our information protection system so that the tangible and intangible information of our partner companies can be managed more safely.
Reinforcing the Win-Win Cooperation System
SK Networks deeply empathizes with the hardships faced by suppliers and strives to help them adapt to the rapidly changing business environment. Every year, we visit our suppliers to listen to their views on-site and analyze their opinions to minimize any risks that suppliers may experience. We visited the sites of 48 key suppliers in 2023 and 47 key suppliers in 2024. In 2025, we plan to visit approximately 50 suppliers. Additionally, we share information on matters related to cooperation through the communication forum available through the new procurement system (www.skbuyone.com). We collect opinions and grievances from suppliers through various channels. In 2023, a total of 271 cases were received, and 262 of them were handled (96.7% completion rate) while a total of 132 cases were received and 127 cases were handled (96.2% completion rate) in 2024. Going forward, we will actively incorporate the opinions and requests of our suppliers to enact improvements
Shared Growth Fund : Improving Suppliers’ Competitiveness
SK Networks is actively participating in SK Group’s shared growth fund and mutual growth programs (CEO seminars, MBAs, etc.). Established in an agreement with IBK, the SKN Shared Growth Fund grants low or no-interest loans to suppliers experiencing economic difficulties due to COVID-19 and the economic downturn, a program that provides funds to partners and reduces loan interest. Particularly, we have expanded the scope to the suppliers of subsidiaries since 2021. We supported Fund of KRW 830 million in 2021, KRW 2.19 billion in 2022, and the maximum level of KRW 4.15 billion in 2023, increasing by more than five times compared to 2021. We plan to continue to maintain the current level
Year | Number of Suppliers | Performance |
---|---|---|
2021 | 3 | KRW 830 million |
2022 | 9 | KRW 2.19 billion |
2023 | 15 | KRW 4.15 billion |
2024 | 15 | KRW 3.77 billion |
* As of the End of December 2024
Support of shared growth with business partners
- Expand the Shared Growth Fund
- Increase by 10% or more compared to 2024 - Expand and operate additional financial support programs
- Identify and implement initiatives for mutual growth
- Support leadership training for middle managers at suppliers
- Support invested subsidiaries in implementing the shared growth system
- Establish a foundation for the systematic implementation of the shard growth system.
- Expand the Shard Growth Fund
- Support leadership training for middle managers at suppliers
- Re-establish key strategies for shared growth
- Complete the systemization of the shared growth
- Develop new financial support programs beyond the Shard Growth Fund
Supply Chain ESG
SK Networks seeks to establish sustainable, ethical procurement in terms of ESG (Environment, Society, Governance) as a hedge against possible ESG risks with suppliers and increase corporate value. We have prepared a Supplier Code of Conduct that contains regulations regarding corporate ethics, respect for human rights, safety & health, environment protection, etc. We also provide the Guideline for Sustainable Supply Chains and reflect the aspect of social responsibility in the supplier selection and appraisal process.
Guideline for Sustainable Supply Chains
All suppliers of SK Networks should comply with its Guideline for Sustainable Supply Chains. The Guideline defines basic principles related to labor, human rights, safety, health, ethics, fair trade, and general management.
Supplier ESG Risk Assessment Results
SK Networks commissions external evaluation agencies to conduct annual ESG assessments of its suppliers to strengthen ESG risk management. Evaluation targets are selected based on transaction volume, frequency, and business impact. Suppliers with insufficient ESG performance are subject to separate consulting support for improvement to help them set improvement targets and implement improvement measures the following year. These activities led to a reduced ratio of high-risk suppliers to 4% in 2024 (vs. 48% in 2023). Key improvement factors include establishing health and safety policies, building an environmental management system, and implementing energy-saving campaigns. SK Networks will continue to upgrade suppliers’ ESG risk measurement, evaluation, and management system, helping suppliers prevent ESG risks and practice sustainable management.
- Environmental Strategy
- Environmental Management
- Environmental Performance
- Job Security
- Terms of Employment
- Employment Equality
- Social Contribution
- Ethical Management
- Health and Safety
- Safe Investment
- Supply Chain Management
- Education
- Business Stability
- Accounting Transparency
- Management System

Severe(RM-7), Weak(RM-6) 2 Suppliers(4%) High Risk Focus Improvement Area. Moderate(RM-5), Good(RM-4), Excellent(RM-3) 46 Suppliers (92%) Medium Risk. Outstanding(RM-2), Top-tier(RM-1) 2 Suppliers(4%) Low Risk. Lowest 1.19, Overall Average 4.86, Highest 9.34. 2023 ClickESG Average 3.55. Overall ESG Risk 4.86, ESG-Risk Good(RM-4). * 2023 ClickESG Results(Third-party verification Criteria) Average Score : 3.55, Highest Score : 9.83
Business Partners’ ESG Risk Management Roadmap
- Helping suppliers improve ESG performance
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- Maintain 100% diagnostic coverage*
- Reduce high-risk suppliers to below 10%
- Reduce suppliers close to high risk to below 40%
- Provide improvement consulting for the previous year’s high-risk suppliers
- Consider expanding ESG incentives for outstanding suppliers
- Support subsidiaries in establishing an ESG-based purchasing management system
- Helping suppliers improve ESG performance
-
- Maintain 100% diagnostic coverage
- Reduce high-risk suppliers to below 5%
- Reduce suppliers close to high risk to below 20%
- Provide improvement consulting for the previous year’s high-risk suppliers
- Consider a penalty system for high ESG risk suppliers
- Support subsidiaries in implementing an ESG-based purchasing management system
- Helping suppliers improve ESG performance
-
- Maintain 100% diagnostic coverage
- Achieve zero high-risk suppliers
- Reduce suppliers close to high risk to below 10%
- Provide improvement consulting for the previous year’s high-risk suppliers
- Implement a penalty system for high ESG risk suppliers
- Support subsidiaries in implementing an ESG-based purchasing management system (continued)
* Percentage of suppliers under intensive management that have undergone ESG assessment and diagnosis for the past two years
Social Contribution Policy
Based on its three principles of ʻHappy Participation, Happy Coexistence, and Happy Changes,’ SK Networks conducts various social contribution activities and strives to contribute to the better changes and sustainable growth of the local community. We pursue social contribution activities in which employees can voluntarily participate through effective support based on core competencies and businesses of employees by making it aligned with our BM. We are expanding the scope of our social contribution to all stakeholders who can be affected by our business activities throughout the supply chain, not just the local community near the business site
Local Community Support Roadmap
- Upgrade of SK Networks social contribution programs(2022)
- Annual volunteer work hour target per employee : 20 hours
- Plan and roll out of SK Networks probono service programs
- Development of measures for impacts of social contribution activities
- Conduction of regular surveys on SK People
- Roll out of SK Networks social contribution system
- Expansion of probono service coverage
- Linking social contribution performance with BM - Upgrade of the impact measurement from social contribution activities
- Conduction of regular surveys on SK People and improvement of social contribution programs
- SK Networks(head office) achieved a participation rate of 85% or more of its employees in social contribution programs
- Upgrade of SK Networks social contribution system
- Upgrade of the performance of probono activities
- Linking social contribution performance with BM to a greater degree - Forging partnership model with external stakeholders (public organizations, local communities, NGOs, etc.)
- SK Networks(head office) achieved a participation rate of 85% or more of its employees in social contribution programs
Activities and Performance for the Local Community
SK Networks strives to support local community development and various vulnerable groups through the “Happiness +” social contribution program. The company engages in multiple programs such as meal distribution at Myeongdong Babjib, Namsan Park and Yeouido Saetgang Park clean-up, sheltered workshop assistance, and non-contact kit-making to encourage members to participate in community support activities. Through these programs, all members totaled 2,433 hours of participation in 2024. Furthermore, SK Networks has donated over KRW 100 million annually for the past four years by supporting briquette/kimchi-sharing, supplies for cubbyhole dwellers, and Gwangjin-gu Food Market. In particular, Walkerhill has been supporting the Gwangjin-gu Food Market program since 2021 and continues to contribute to the program’s expansion by providing 3,250 items free of charge to 714 people in 2024 through cash and goods donations worth approximately KRW 18.5 million. SK Networks will remain committed to sustainable community development through various support activities by expanding linkages to business models.
Supporting SE* Ecology
SK Networks vows to leverage business to address social challenges and innovate business models with focus on social values, supporting the SE ecosystem in so doing. In particular, SK Networks has persistently endeavored to bolster up a social safety net, support for less-advantaged social classes having potential for future growth (youth education programs, mom-and-pop business support packages) and resolve challenges facing local communities in connection with SK business sites.
As a part of its business, SK Networks seeks to forge partnerships and facilitate shared growth with social enterprises that share common aspirations with it, trying to help social enterprises rise on their own and create opportunities for joint business innovation by leveraging SK Networks people’s expertise. SK Networks also plans to gradually expand collaboration with external stakeholders to promote SE ecosystem.
* Social Enterprise
Goals for supporting SE ecosystem Roadmap
- Development of strategy to support SE ecosystem
- Operation of SK Networks’ probono programs
- Target-type probono / Spot-type probono - Conduction of regular surveys on social enterprises with questions on SE ecosystem promotion activities
- Participation in consultative bodies/alliances forged in the SK Group
- Expansion of the scope of support for SE ecosystem and performance measurement
- Fostering of participation in probono programs
- Improvement of SE ecosystem support programs as feedback from participating SEs and SK Networks people
- More active participation in consultative bodies/alliances forged in the SK Group
- Upgrade of the SE ecosystem support strategy and performance
- Boosting up of probono program performance
- Expansion of collaboration with external stakeholder
SK Networks probono
SK Networks operates Spot Pro Bono and Targeted Pro Bono programs to have members’ expertise contribute to society and support the growth of social enterprises and social ventures. Spot Pro Bono matches social enterprises needing consultations with members who have relevant competencies and provides advisory sessions in areas such as business planning, marketing, legal affairs, finance/accounting, translation/interpretation, R&D, and usability testing. Targeted Pro Bono is a program that brings together an advisory group of multiple pro bono specialists with expertise tailored to the needs of social enterprises to provide ongoing comprehensive consulting. Social enterprises that fit the business model and social contribution directivity are selected, and the advisory group members perform advisory activities for 6 months.
In 2024, 27 members (8 in Targeted Pro Bono, 10 in Spot Pro Bono, and 9 in usability testing) from SK Networks and its major subsidiaries participated in various Pro Bono Programs for a total of 226 hours. Notably, the 2024 Targeted Pro Bono program provided comprehensive consulting for 3 social enterprises/ventures focused on artificial intelligence, aligning with SK Networks’ future business direction. As a result, SK Networks pro bono specialists received the Outstanding Pro Bono Award in the Group Category (2 teams) and Super Rookie Award (1 individual) at the 2024 Pro Bono Awards organized by the social enterprise Happy Narae. These achievements demonstrate SK Networks’ contribution to the growth of various social enterprises and the SE ecosystem by leveraging its members’ competencies.