conjunction
setting aside; leaving aside
Used as a conjunction to introduce a topic while explicitly putting another topic aside. Often appears as ～はさておき.
See also: 扠置く
冗談はさておき、本題に入りましょう。
Joking aside, let's get down to business.
見た目はさておき、味はとてもいい。
Appearance aside, it tastes very good.
ともかく means 'anyway' or 'in any case' and moves on without necessarily setting a specific topic aside. さておき explicitly puts one topic aside to focus on another.
From さて (well, now) + 置き (continuative form of 置く, to put/place). Literally 'putting that aside'.