SK Group appears to be benchmarking big Japanese firms for reshaping its business after chairman Chey Tae-won’s return to management last month. 

SK Group focused on Toyota, Shinetsu, JX Nippon Oil & Energy and other Japanese companies’ cases of successful business reshuffles, in a company newsletter published Friday.

The newsletter is the first to be issued since Chey’s return, and is seen as an indicator of the business empire’s future reforms.

Chey was behind bars for three years on embezzlement charges and was freed by a presidential pardon to mark the Liberation Day holiday on Aug. 15.

The newsletter also listed similar cases of its own subsidiaries and analysis of a prolonged period of slow global economic growth.

“These Japanese companies have steadily grown and gained cost competitive edges via reorganization of business portfolios, even in the darkest times of the prolonged economic downturn,” SK said in the newsletter.

The first to be mentioned in the letter was top Japanese oil refiner JX Nippon Oil & Energy. SK introduced the company as the result of “aggressive market expansion through mergers and acquisitions.”

This further fans rumors that Chey will officially launch business reorganization efforts later this year.

“The two pillars of SK Group -- the petrochemical and mobile communication businesses -- hit the wall several years ago. The management would eventually try to sell a few affiliates and expand promising businesses through mergers and acquisitions,” an SK official was quoted as saying in a local daily.

SK Innovation is reportedly diversifying its business portfolios in oil exploration, global trading and developing manufacturing infrastructure.

SK Telecom and SK hynix, meanwhile, the information technology service units are rumored to undergo major business reshuffles soon.

Earlier this month, Chey visited Taiwan to meet Foxconn chairman Guo Tai-ming, to discuss cooperation on finance and IT targeting emerging markets. 

By Suk Gee-hyun (monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)