Hee Jung, head of innovation and investment at SK discovery, is one of our top 50 Emerging Leaders in corporate venturing for 2025.
SK discovery, a division of Korean conglomerate SK Group, is expanding its US innovation platform to include venture building and indirect investments, and head of unit Hee S. Jung is leading that effort.
Jung has led cleantech investments for SK Gas, a subsidiary of SK discovery, since 2018. In 2024, his role expanded to include investing in property tech, deeptech and climate tech for SK discovery’s business lines in chemicals, bioscience and real estate.
The company is now doing indirect investments in VC funds and helping to build companies tied to its direct investments as part of its venturing arm in Silicon Valley.
“This is one step further as an investment person, making things a reality rather than just deploying capital and working with a startup,” says Jung.
He is expanding the team as part of the growth plan and is aiming to open a new office in either Chicago or Atlanta this year.
The company is also seeking to build internal ventures focused on the circularity and recycling sectors. It plans to build recycling plants in the US based on technologies that it has developed in-house as part of its venture building activities.
“This is one step further as an investment person, making things a reality rather than just deploying capital and working with a startup.”
Jung says its move into venture building in the circularity sector was the result of failing to find startups that could grow commercially. “The missing component from the solutions that startups provide is having the commercial scale in mind. A lot of startups are so focused and locked into their technology and doing things at the lab scale.
“We wanted to build with the commercial scale in mind and think about mass production from the start,” says Jung.
Jung is also keen to improve the brand recognition of SK Group among startups and investors in the US. “We are trying to engage with as many brand owners as we can. That is how we have been expanding our network in the industry.”
See the full list of Emerging Leaders 2025 here.
