Choi Tae-won, who serves as the President of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and CEO of SK Group, publicly acknowledged the 'fake news' controversy involving the KCCI's recent statement about inheritance tax. Addressing the issue in a letter to all staff while staying in the United States, he called it a 'painful matter' and emphasized the fundamental problems it has raised regarding trust in the KCCI's authority to diagnose economic issues and propose policy alternatives. Choi has vowed to reflect on this incident and implement reforms to restore credibility.

In his letter, Choi recognized the high expectations from the public and government towards statutory economic organizations, urging all members to make a serious commitment to their social responsibilities. He expressed his own heavy sense of responsibility and pledged to return to the original intentions he had when first taking office as the KCCI President. Choi also stated that mere fact-checking measures would be insufficient to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future and called for a serious reevaluation of whether the pride associated with being a statutory economic body had devolved into complacency.

To address these issues, Choi proposed five major reforms intended to overhaul the KCCI, including a reassessment of organizational culture, innovation in goals, and securing expertise. He announced a temporary suspension of KCCI-hosted events and the initiation of a process to reaffirm the confidence of all executives. Choi concluded with an urging call to have each member openly reflect on their roles and to approach their work with the determination to rebuild the organization. He emphasized the need to turn this crisis into an opportunity to transform the KCCI into a more trusted institution.