A full week after reports surfaced, SK Group confirmed Tuesday that its chief, Chey Tae-won, would step down as chair of the board of SK Holdings, the conglomerate’s holding company, to improve transparency in corporate governance.

The company said in a statement that it was considering amendments to its articles that would forbid CEOs from concurrently serving as board chair. The board will also have more outside directors to make the organization more independent and transparent, it added.

The amendments to the articles will be put to a vote at the General Assembly, scheduled for March 27.

Although he is stepping down as chair, Chey will remain a board member.

A board subcommittee has recommended former president of Korea University Yeom Jae-ho and former vice chairman of Hana Financial Kim Byeong-ho as new outside directors of SK Holdings.

Chey, as CEO and a majority shareholder of SK Holdings, was chair of the board for three years.

His departure will separate his ownership and management roles, increasing transparency in governance for the 200 trillion won ($178 billion) empire, according to insiders.

Steps to improve transparency in governance are part of SK’s efforts to better comply with global market standards that stipulate companies maintain boards of directors as separate and independent entities to keep management in check, the company said.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)