HONG KONG (Standard&Poor's) March 12, 2009--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today revised to negative from stable the outlook on its long-term corporate credit rating on Korea-based SK Energy Co. Ltd. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'BBB' long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings. The revision of the outlook to negative reflects the risk of deterioration in the company's financial risk profile, as a result of the challenging conditions expected to beset the refining and marketing (R&M) and petrochemical industries over the next 12 to 18 months. Although SK Energy's operating results in 2008 were better than those of its domestic peers, it is our opinion that, due to an increase in the company's
