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The characteristic of a symmetric key, which is known for its use in encryption and decryption, is that it involves a shared secret known only to the parties that are communicating securely. This means that the same key is used for both encrypting and decrypting the information. Thus, the notion that each symmetric key is known to only two people aligns well with how symmetric key encryption operates, as the security of the communication relies on the secrecy of that key between the involved parties.

In symmetric key systems, if the key were widely known (as suggested by the first option), it would compromise the security of the encrypted data. The second option suggests that symmetric key encryption is very slow compared to asymmetric key approaches, which is misleading; in fact, symmetric key algorithms tend to be faster than asymmetric algorithms, especially for large amounts of data. The fourth option indicates that extensive key management knowledge is required, which is not entirely accurate; while key management is important, symmetric key systems can be simpler to manage than asymmetric systems due to their straightforward key usage.