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Inspiring Future, Grand Challenge

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2024 2nd Jungbong Prize (Jungbong Prize) Year-end Party for Past Winners Held
2024-12-02
On Thursday, November 28, the <2nd Jungbong Award Year-End Party for Past Winners> was held at the Loft House of La Casa Hotel. The event was attended by Chairman Lee Hyeon-gu, who donated the Jungbong Academic Research Fund, the Business School Alumni Association (Chairman Lim Kyeong-yoon, Honorary Chairman Kim Dong-pil, Honorary Chairman Kim Ik-rae, Honorary Chairman Jeon Yong-ju, Secretary General Lee Jeong-sang), the school (Dean Lee Seok-gyu of the Business School, Vice Dean Choi Young-soo, Former Dean Choi Jong-beom, Director of Administrative Affairs Yeom Dong-gi, and Director Kim Do-yeon), and past Jungbong Award winners (Professors Oh Jong-min, Bae Jun-hyung, Lee Hye-jin, Lim Byeong-hwa, Kim Do-hyun, Kim Andrea, Lee Eun-joo, Ahn Min-gwan, and Choi Hee-ik). The event on this day proceeded in the following order: opening remarks, introduction of attendees, greetings from Chairman Lee Hyeon-gu, greetings from Dean Lee Seok-gyu, greetings from Alumni Association President Lim Gyeong-yun, a visit from Professor Kim Do-hyeon (2024 Jungbong Academic Research Fund Incentive Recipient), followed by dinner and commemorative photos. Chairman Lee Hyeon-gu, who organized this event, said, "I am very proud that professors' research activities have become more active recently, resulting in many excellent papers. I am confident that Sungkyunkwan University's College of Business Administration will develop overwhelmingly. We will continue to strengthen the Jungbong Fund and continuously improve it into an efficient system, and do our best so that the Jungbong Academic Award can contribute to the development of the school and society." Dean Lee Seok-gyu of the Business School said, “I am grateful to have the opportunity to interact with excellent faculty members by inviting alumni who have shown much love for our business school. Thanks to the material and spiritual support of the alumni association presidents, the current Sungkyunkwan University Business School has become a ‘trustworthy organization.’ I believe that it will achieve even greater development in the future. I am grateful for the support so far, and I will not forget the wishes contained therein and continue to carry them on.” Lim Kyung-yoon, the president of the alumni association, said, “I am glad that there is an opportunity for alumni and professors to come together. I am very proud of the status of Sungkyunkwan University. The alumni association will support the development of students and the school with more interest. I believe that through the cooperation of professors and alumni, Sungkyunkwan University’s College of Business Administration will become the best department in Korea.” Professor Kim Do-hyun said in his speech, “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Chairman Lee Hyeon-gu for his valuable support and encouragement to researchers. Thanks to the chairman’s continuous support based on trust, we were able to achieve academic results through good research.” In addition, he introduced the paper “Trust and Power: On the Mechanism by which Third Parties Promote Inter-Organizational Cooperation” published in the international A1 academic journal Journal of Business Research in August 2024, which received a great response from the attendees. Meanwhile, the year-end party for past recipients of the Jungbong Award was held for the second time following last year to promote exchanges among excellent faculty members who have received the Jungbong Academic Award and Jungbong Academic Research Fund.

Year-end greetings to alumni of Sungkyunkwan University's College of Business Administration
2024-12-02
Dear alumni of the Business School, hello. This is Seok-gyu Lee, Dean of the College of Business Administration. As 2024 is almost over, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for your unwavering love and support. Thanks to the warm support of our alumni, our Business School has achieved remarkable growth, and I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for your dedication. The love you have shown for the school has made today’s Business School possible. I ask for your continued cooperation and interest so that the Business School can continue to move forward toward higher goals. In particular, in the recently announced 2024 World University Rankings (THE), Sungkyunkwan University ranked 103rd in the world, tying for first place among private universities in Korea (with Yonsei University). This is not only an important indicator of the continued development and growth of our business school, but also a great achievement made possible thanks to the unwavering support of our alumni. Now, we want to take another step toward entering the world's top 100. Of course, the journey to establish ourselves as the world's best university is still long and arduous, but we will continue to move forward based on the confidence we have gained from our proud achievements. I would like to once again express my deepest gratitude for the affection and encouragement you have given us. However, there are still many tasks for the development of business schools. The most important task among them is external quantitative growth. In order to become a world-class university, it is essential to expand not only the number of students and the size of the faculty, but also, above all, to expand the development fund of business schools. In order to have global competitiveness, the financial foundation necessary to further strengthen the educational environment and research environment must be supported. The lack of development funds can be a major obstacle to realizing our goals. Currently, our business schools still show a large gap in terms of development funds and external scale compared to major domestic competitors. For example, K University’s business school has its own development fund of over 40 billion won, and it actively uses it to improve research and educational environments. As a result, K University’s business school has achieved rapid growth in the past 10 years, and has now established itself as a department with a high status both domestically and internationally. In addition, Y University has significantly increased scholarship support and professor research expenses through a development fund of 20 billion won, and has become the center of the campus by expanding its state-of-the-art building. Such external growth of competing universities is a major challenge for our business school. The current size of the business school building is about 1/4 to 1/5 smaller than those of these universities. In order to solve this problem, expansion of the business school’s basic infrastructure is urgently needed. In this regard, the construction of the 2nd Management Building is emerging as the most important project for the future of the Business School. The 2nd Management Building is a state-of-the-art building with an area of approximately 8,700 pyeong, and will provide a space optimized for education and research. The building is designed to be 3 floors underground and 8 floors above ground, and it will go beyond the limitations of existing buildings and become a core infrastructure for the development of the Business School. The total construction cost is currently expected to be 120 to 150 billion won, and the detailed design will be completed by 2025, and the groundbreaking ceremony will be held in the spring of 2026. The construction of the 2nd Management Building is not simply the construction of a new building. It is an important opportunity to realize the future vision and values of the Business School. The alumni fundraising project for the establishment of the 2nd Business School is not just about building a building, but is an important first step toward elevating the vision and values of the Sungkyunkwan University Business School to a world-class level. The 2nd Business School, equipped with state-of-the-art educational facilities and research spaces, will provide students with a better learning environment and professors with an excellent research environment. In particular, smart classrooms, collaborative spaces, and educational facilities that reflect the latest technology will play an important role in maximizing students’ creativity and problem-solving skills. Innovative facilities designed to foster competitive talent in the global business environment will further enhance the quality of education at the Business School. In order to realize this vision, we need the active participation and donations of our alumni. Regardless of the amount, donations are all valuable, and the sincerity of each and every donor will bring about great change. There are many ways to participate in donations. Regardless of the amount of donation, your valuable contribution will be a significant driving force for the construction of the 2nd Business School. The Business School has achieved today’s growth thanks to the endless love and support of our alumni, and now it is time to take another step toward the future based on that growth. The 2nd Business School construction project will be an important turning point that will brighten the future of the Sungkyunkwan University Business School beyond the simple construction of a physical building. The donations and participation of our alumni will be the driving force for the success of this project. In order for the Business School to establish itself as a world-class business school, we ask for the continued interest and support of the Business School alumni, and we are confident that the active participation of all Sungkyunkwan Business School family members in the 2nd Business School Building construction project will make the future of the Business School shine even brighter. Please gather your passionate sincerity for a better Business School that we can create together. Thank you.

[Student Interview] Song Chae-won (Geulgyeong 23)_ Interview on Participation in the 2024 School of Business Global Summ
2024-11-25
1. Hello, first of all, please introduce yourself and the university you are dispatched to. Hello, I am Song Chae-won, class of 23, Department of Global Management. I went to Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China as a short-term dispatch student in the summer of 2024. 2. What made you participate in the 2024 Global Summer Program? I participated because I wanted to experience living abroad, even if only for a short time. Since I always went to school and took classes in Korea, I wanted to have a new experience. I was looking for a way to experience abroad without interfering with my school life, and when I saw the Global Summer Program posted on the department notice board, I thought this program would be right for me, so I applied. 3. What activities did you do there? What was the most memorable one? During the three weeks, I attended classes at Jiaotong University from 9 to 5 on weekdays, and was free to wander around on weekends. During the week when I went to school, I took various Chinese-related management classes such as Chinese consumer behavior and Chinese economy, and in addition to classes, I also visited Chinese companies every week. There was also a Sightseeing time where I visited various tourist attractions in Shanghai, so I got to know friends from other countries and it was an interesting activity! There was also a Chinese Language Lecture at an introductory level, so I was able to learn a little bit of Chinese! On the last day, there was a Final Evaluation. I prepared a final presentation with five team members, and this experience was the most memorable. I was able to communicate with my foreign friends and become close, and I was able to feel each other’s diverse cultural backgrounds while preparing the presentation together. My team presented on the topic of ‘Proposal for Eco-friendly Energy Collaboration between China and Russia,’ which was a time when I was able to broaden my international perspective. 4. What did you learn from this Global Challenge? Through this Global Challenge, I made a resolution to ‘be interested in other cultures.’ I was able to meet friends from various cultures, from Europe to Asia, and people of various ages, from 19-year-olds who had just graduated to graduate students. As someone who had only made friends of a similar age in Korea, I felt awkward and difficult to approach them at first. However, as time passed, we talked and did various activities together, and I became very attached to them despite the short period of time. I realized that my knowledge was very limited, and I thought that I should make more friends with different backgrounds in the future. 5. What are your future plans? What are your future career paths and goals? I plan to broaden my horizons by gaining various overseas experiences. When I participated, I visited Huawei, MedMotion, Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company Limited, and Mihoyo as corporate visits. To be honest, I had not been able to find my career path in the business administration department until then. I didn’t know which of the four major fields was interesting or suited to me. However, as I visited companies in various fields in other countries, I became interested in global marketing and strategy. In particular, the person who led the company visit to Mihoyo was the global marketing team, and he explained what strategies and projects they had implemented to promote Mihoyo beyond China to Korea, Japan, and the West. When I heard that, I was very interested, and I thought I should look at the world more broadly in the future. It was a highly satisfying program, so much so that I would like to participate in the Global Summer Program in Europe next time if I get the chance. 6. Lastly, if you have any stories to share with fellow students of the Business School, please let me know. I would definitely recommend the Global Summer Program to anyone who wants to experience abroad. It was a short-term, easy-on experience that broadened my international perspective, and I was able to have more diverse experiences beyond Korea. It is a valuable opportunity to broaden my spectrum, so if you are interested, please apply.

The 6th Sungkyunkwan Business Academic Festival in 2024 is in progress
2024-11-21
The 6th Sungkyun Business Academic Festival was held on Tuesday, October 29 and Wednesday, October 30, jointly hosted by the Business School Administration Office and the Student Council. This event, which is open to undergraduate students of the Business School, is a system in which students research topics suggested in advance by the examining professors for each major or topics of their choice, write reports, and present them for evaluation, and the winners are awarded cash prizes and a plaque with the name of the Dean of the Business School. From September 2 to September 8, participants were recruited in advance and the final presentation teams were selected through a review of research reports. A total of 96 students from 34 teams applied for this academic festival. A total of 15 teams (46 people) advanced to the final round, and the final presentation and review were divided into marketing and finance on October 29 (Tuesday) and business information on October 30 (Wednesday) by major. The final judging panel consisted of Professors Dae-Jin Kim and Byeong-Hwa Lim from the Department of Finance, Professors Hyo-Won Kim and Hye-Jin Lee from the Department of Marketing, and Professors Yong-Seok Kim and Sang-Seok Yoo from the Department of Management Information. The grand prize winners that day were the Finance team Hye-Ri Park, Ha-Young Yoo, and Sang-Yoon Jeong (hereafter Global Management Department) and the Marketing team Ji-In Kim, Seo-Yeon Park, Chae-Yeon Song, and Seon-Woo Ahn (hereafter Global Management Department). Meanwhile, the Sungkyun Business Academic Festival is the first official academic festival of the business school, and it is held to enhance the sense of belonging and strengthen personal networks among students through academic research, and to provide opportunities for practical application of academic knowledge due to the need for academic festivals for each business administration major. It is expected that through the Sungkyun Business Academic Festival, students will cultivate the capabilities and experiences necessary for external activities and strengthen their own areas of interest and expertise.

2024 Sungkyunkwan University CEO Program (W-AMP) 25th Graduation Ceremony Held
2024-11-18
On Thursday, October 31st at 6:30 PM, the 25th graduation ceremony of the 2024 W-AMP was held at the Global R&E Lounge on the 5th floor of the International Hall. Dean of the College of Business Administration Lee Seok-gyu, W-AMP Director Professor Oh Won-seok, Alumni Association President Han Moon-chul, Alumni Association executives, and other distinguished guests from home and abroad attended the event to celebrate the graduation of the 25th W-AMP in 2024. The first part of the graduation ceremony on this day consisted of the national anthem, introduction of domestic and foreign guests and video presentation, presentation of certificates and awards for merit, excellence, and friendship, followed by a presentation of the development fund, congratulatory address by Dean Lee Seok-gyu, congratulatory address by Professor Oh Won-seok, words of encouragement by Alumni Association President Han Mun-cheol, and a response by Alumni Association President Park Young-jin. Dean of the College of Business Administration Lee Seok-gyu said in his congratulatory remarks, “This year’s 25th W-AMP was attended by a large number of alumni, 49 in number. I am grateful for their interest and dedication. I will continue to strive to foster friendships as Sungkyunkwan students even after graduation. I sincerely congratulate you on your graduation.” Professor Oh Won-seok said, “I sincerely congratulate the graduates on their graduation. I hope that the experience of the CEO course will lead to the development of the Republic of Korea in all walks of life. As a proud member of the Sungkyunkwan family, I wish you continued success after graduation.” President of the Sungkyunkwan Alumni Association Han Moon-cheol also gave a congratulatory speech, saying, “I hope that all the graduates will be healthy and happy in the days ahead.” In response, W-AMP 25th President Park Young-jin said, “I would like to thank everyone who worked hard to get us here today. I hope that we will not forget the meaningful times we spent together at W-AMP, and I believe that our relationship will be a valuable asset. I hope that we will continue to have good luck in the future.” The second part of the graduation ceremony was a dinner party where the 25th class members shared their thoughts and introduced the alumni association and clubs, and had a time of fellowship with the class members and alumni. In particular, the 25th class of W-AMP donated 20 million won to the business school development fund to celebrate their graduation and make their graduation even more meaningful. W-AMP (CEO Program), which symbolizes the 3Ws of Wisdom Management, Wealth Management, and Well-being Management, is a representative CEO program of Sungkyunkwan University. It is a differentiated management program that conveys humanistic assets based on the 625-year history of Sungkyunkwan University and enhances creative management mindset based on Eastern philosophy, history, culture, and art, while dealing with recent social/cultural issues such as the 4th Industrial Revolution, artificial intelligence (AI), metaverse, and big data. For inquiries about the W-AMP program, admissions, etc., please contact the W-AMP Support Center (02-760-0300).

The 4th Geonbong and Wolha Scholarship Award Ceremony Held
2024-11-12
On Thursday, November 7, the 4th Geonbong and Wolha Scholarship Award Ceremony was held in the Kim Ik-rae Advanced Lecture Room (Room 33504) on the 5th floor of the Business Administration Building to support smooth academic completion for Business Administration students. The event was attended by donors Won-gap Kim (Business Administration ’72, Vice Chairman and CEO of Hyundai Corporation/Hyundai Corporation Holdings, Chairman of the Geonbong Scholarship Foundation) and Yeong-hwa Jeong (Business Administration ’72, Chairman of the Wolha Scholarship Foundation), as well as Dean Seok-gyu Lee of the Business Administration, Vice Dean Sang-gyun Kim, EMBA Professor Young-sang Kim, Director of the Office of Administrative Affairs Jeung-sang Lee, and Director of the Administrative Office Dong-gi Yeom. The students selected as the 4th Geonbong and Wolha Scholarship recipients are Kwon Hyun-jae, Cho Seung-beom (both from the Department of Global Management), Cho Ye-eun, and Kim Yu-jun (both from the Department of Business Administration). On this day, Dean of the College of Business Administration Lee Seok-gyu said, “I believe that there is nothing more beautiful than investing in people. I would like to thank the chairmen who have continuously supported talented individuals with the potential to do anything so that they can unfold their dreams. I congratulate you on being selected as scholarship recipients, and I hope that you will work hard to continue the good intentions of the scholarship with pride.” ▲ In order, Kwon Hyun-jae, Jo Seung-beom, Jo Ye-eun, and Kim Yu-jun This was followed by the awarding of scholarship certificates and the students’ words of gratitude. Kwon Hyun-jae (Gyeonggyeong 21) expressed his gratitude, saying, “I am grateful for the conditions that allowed me to focus on my studies, and I will grow into an excellent person who can give back to society the help I have received.” Jo Seung-beom (Gyeonggyeong 20) said, “From my steps at school to the steps I will take in society, I will always remember that ‘it was not done by my own strength,’ and I will live my life by realizing the value contained in the support of my seniors and sharing it more broadly. I was able to strengthen my determination to grow into a person who has a positive influence on society.” Jo Ye-eun (Business Administration 23) said, “I will use what I have received as nutrients to grow into a great person. I will become a person who is not ashamed to forget what I have received and be able to give back.” Kim Yu-jun (Business Administration 21) said, “I could feel the support and affection my seniors have for their juniors. He expressed his gratitude by saying, “I will focus on my studies to carry on the legacy of my seniors and follow in their footsteps to become a great senior.” Next, the donor's interview followed. Alumnus Jeong Young-hwa said, "I believe that the greatest strength that can overcome and endure difficulties is 'a grateful heart', and I have lived by practicing this. I hope that you will continue to pioneer a wonderful life with a grateful heart. Once again, congratulations on being selected for the scholarship." Kim Won-gap, an alumnus, said in his speech, “I have lived by the motto of ‘being a senior who is not ashamed of his juniors,’ and I am now able to help people who are pursuing their dreams. I received a scholarship when I was a college student, and I am grateful that I can help you now. I hope that you will also take a path that you can be proud of. I support my juniors who are working hard to achieve their dreams.”

2024 School Year 'Management Night' Completed
2024-11-11
The 2024 ‘Businessman’s Night’ event was held on Wednesday, October 30th and Thursday, October 31st at the small theater on the third basement floor of the Sungkyunkwan University Business School. Hosted by the 24th Business School Student Council ‘WANN:BE’, this event was attended by approximately 180 full-time Business School faculty members and undergraduate business school students. The first day of the event, held on Wednesday, October 30, featured a stage and award ceremony for each class. The second day, Thursday, October 31, began with a business report by the 24th Business School Student Council ‘WANN:BE’, which is concluding its term with this event, followed by welcoming remarks by Dean of Business School Lee Seok-gyu and Dean of Business School Shin Ji-seon, content activities for the night of business leaders, and a video viewing by class presidents. The event concluded successfully with a group photo. After the event, everyone had dinner together, creating a space for communication between seniors and juniors, and it was a time to see the students’ passion for the Sungkyunkwan University Business School to become a world-class university. Student council president Kim Joo-won (Business 22), who prepared this event, explained the event, saying, “This year’s Business Night event was held in the form of an awards ceremony, and it was a time to look back on the past year at Sungkyunkwan University’s Department of Business Administration. In particular, we were able to end the year with compliments by making ‘ㅇㅇ Award for ㅇㅇ’ cards and exchanging awards among fellow students.” Also, “Personally, I am honored to be able to conclude my term as the 24th Business School Student Council WANNA:BE at the Businessmen’s Night event, attended by 200 business school students. I was able to look back on my time as student council president while explaining to my fellow students the projects I had carried out during my one-year term. I think I was able to complete my term safely thanks to the support of my fellow students and the student council executive committee members. Now, I will return to being a regular student at the Sungkyunkwan University Business School and always support our business school. Thank you.” Meanwhile, ‘Management Night’ is an annual event held regularly to promote networking between business school faculty and business school students.

Yongwon Kim (PhD in Finance Track, Graduate School of General Studies) Interview on Participation in the Business School
2024-11-11
1. Hello, first of all, please introduce yourself and the university you are dispatched to. Hello. My name is Yongwon Kim, and I am currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program in the Finance and Finance track at Sungkyunkwan University’s Graduate School of Business. I am also enrolled in the Ph.D. program in International Finance at the University of South Carolina (UofSC) through a dual degree program, and I am currently preparing to graduate from both schools after completing my Ph.D. 2. What motivated you to participate in the dual degree program? When I was planning to pursue a doctoral program, I considered studying abroad. However, I had a lot of concerns about the time it took to prepare for and pass the exam, and the high financial costs even after I entered the program. Eventually, I decided to pursue a doctoral program at a domestic university, but I found out that Sungkyunkwan University was offering a dual degree program. I thought that the dual degree program would greatly reduce time and financial costs, so I thought it would be a great opportunity for me and decided to participate. 3. Did you prepare anything for the dual degree program? How was the preparation process? First, since I needed a TOEFL score to be accepted into the dual degree program, I studied at a nearby TOEFL academy during the summer vacation. I also diligently took Sungkyunkwan University’s coursework to prepare for the classes at UofSC. The preparation process was not particularly difficult, but I was worried that I would not be able to adapt well at UofSC with this level of preparation. To relieve my anxiety, I studied English even after I met the qualifications, enrolled in all the coursework classes I could take, and participated actively. 4. What activities/lifestyle did you do during the dual degree program? What was the most memorable one among them? I took about 30 credits of classes at UofSC and published one research paper. During my stay, I conducted about 8 research projects, and although the analysis results were not good, I was able to grow a lot by being exposed to various topics and data in the process. In the process of writing the final version to publish the paper, I was able to learn a lot about how to write an article to make it more interesting to readers and to make it a well-made article. In addition to the research I was conducting, I was able to come into contact with a lot of research conducted by other students and research currently being conducted by scholars from other schools, and I was able to freely and constructively discuss and develop my perspective on papers. I also attended conferences held in the United States and was able to obtain a lot of information about current research trends and the current state of the job market. In addition to my research experience, I also worked as a TA for data analysis classes for undergraduate students and MBA courses conducted by Korea Electric Power Corporation. In particular, the TA job of helping undergraduate students with assignments using the R program was a great opportunity to indirectly experience education by teaching students in English. The experience of taking the Comprehensive Exam right before returning is the most memorable. I studied about 3 subjects out of the coursework subjects I learned at UofSC over the past year for the exam, and I also prepared a presentation by organizing 3 researches I was conducting. The preparation process was difficult due to the limited time, but after receiving the pass, I felt that I had grown even more and it was very rewarding. This sense of accomplishment seems to have helped me a lot in continuing my studies to this day. 5. How has the dual degree program affected your life? I think it has had a big impact. Before, since I had no overseas experience, I thought that my English skills would be a big problem when writing or presenting an English paper, but now I am more familiar with these tasks and I feel more confident. I also realized how important it is to experience various cultures overseas. While writing my paper, I was able to communicate with researchers of various nationalities, and each of them had a very different perspective on the same paper. I realized how much consideration of these different perspectives can help me write a persuasive paper. I also think that the various research experiences I was able to conduct in the United States greatly improved my research capabilities. I am currently conducting many research projects by applying my various research experiences, and through my experience, I have been able to make up for my shortcomings and work harder to finish them with high quality. In this way, I can say that the dual degree program has laid a better foundation for me to become a good researcher. 6. What are your plans for the future? What are your future career paths and goals? I want to continue to research and live in academia based on what I have learned. Now that I am about to graduate, I will continue to work hard to write good papers and learn even after graduation. Someday, I want to become a professor who can share the knowledge I have learned, and I want to contribute to the world through good research. 7. Lastly, if there is anything you would like to share with fellow students of the College of Business Administration, please let me know. If there are any fellow students or alumni who would like to gain research experience abroad but are hesitating due to various concerns, I think the dual degree program offered by Sungkyunkwan University could be a good opportunity. I hope that the experience I am sharing will be useful information for many people to make a good choice. Thank you.

Interview with the 'Dongjeonhanjang Team', who won second place in the WTO Mock Trial Competition
2024-11-04
On August 30, the ‘Dong-Jeon-Han-Jang’ team, comprised of undergraduate students from our university, won the second place award at the WTO World Trade Organization Mock Trial Competition hosted by the Korean International Law Association and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The competition required arguments that applied international legal interpretations to international trade disputes, and the theme was a dispute that arose from similar cigarette import regulations between countries A and T. In this competition, in which not only undergraduate students but also law school students participated, we met with students who proudly placed second: Jeong Dong-ju (Politics and Diplomacy 23), Jeon Ju-won (Global Management 22), Han Ye-chan (Global Management 23), and Jang Yoon-hee (Chinese Language and Literature 23), and asked them about their thoughts on winning the award and the secret behind it. | Please introduce your team briefly. Hello, this is the Dong-Jeon-Han-Jang team. Our team is a team of four undergraduate students with different majors and diverse interests, including a student who aims to start a business, a student who dreams of becoming a lawyer, and a student who has a vague interest in law. The team name is a combination of one letter from each of the names of the team members: Jeong Dong-Joo, Jeon Ju-Won, Han Ye-Chan, and Jang Yoon-Hee. Just as there is an old saying that a simple name can help you live longer, we also chose a simple name rather than a grand team name to win an award. ▲ In order, students Jeong Dong-ju, Jeon Ju-won, Han Ye-chan, and Jang Yun-hee | Congratulations on winning second place in the WTO mock trial competition. Please share your thoughts. Dong: At first, my goal was to be one of the eight teams that advanced to the finals. I just worked hard, prepared to fail every round, but I think I was surprised that I kept going up. I remember everyone being surprised and saying that I was wrong and that I should check again. Jeon: I still can’t believe it. I thought I would fail in the quarterfinals, but I got through, and especially in the semifinals, I thought I would really lose because I didn’t do my defense well. I think it’s even more joyful and honorable because it was an unexpectedly good result. Han: When the second place announcement was made, I was just amazed. I felt good because it seemed like my teammates’ hard work was paying off. Jang: I didn’t even expect to win second place. I was so tired that I was dozing off every time the trial results came out, but I kept going up one level at a time. We all worked hard during the two months of vacation, so I think it’s fortunate that we ended up in second place. | I am curious about what prompted you to apply for this competition related to international trade disputes. Dong: Actually, I wasn’t that interested in law. When I was in the US last semester, many people around me went on to American law schools and majored in international law, so I developed a vague interest in international law, and it was a good opportunity to apply. Jeon: In general, civil and criminal trials are the most familiar forms of trial. However, while studying law, I learned that trials related to international law and international trade can take various forms. I happened to come across this competition announcement and applied. Han: I dream of starting a business, but I recently felt the need to build up my legal knowledge. I thought that law didn’t suit my aptitude, so I kept avoiding it, but I applied for this opportunity to build a sense of familiarity with the law department. Jang: I was originally interested in law. These days, I think it’s important for lawyers to have their own specialized fields, so I learned about this competition while exploring fields in which I could specialize. I have been interested in international law since I was a high school student, and I also enjoyed mock trials, so I decided to participate. | The theme of this competition was ‘Regulation of Similar Tobacco’. What do you think was the most important part of the argument of the Dong-Jeon-Han-Jang team? Our team used the GATT Treaty and the TBT Treaty as the most important basis for argument. Since both treaties require a judgment on similar products as a basic prerequisite, it was very important to identify the characteristics of similar cigarettes and prove whether they are similar products or not. We focused on preparing for this part the most and tried to persuasively convey this proof on the day of the mock trial. There is an exception clause in Article 20 of GATT that states ‘trade imports may be restricted for public morals or health issues’. It was important to convince the audience that Country A’s import restrictions were justified using this exception clause, so we put a lot of effort into this part as well. | What did you focus on the most during the argument or rebuttal preparation process? A rebuttal should be made immediately after hearing the opponent's argument, so I tried to prepare a rebuttal quickly by passing notes among team members after hearing the opponent's argument. I focused on emphasizing the argument but not repeating it. I think I invested a lot of time and effort into putting the logic in my head into the form of a rebuttal and persuasively conveying it in English. In the case of the argument, it was difficult because the given time for the argument was short, so I had to say the content I had prepared in a very concise manner. After listening to the opponent's argument, I figured out what the opponent wanted to emphasize, and added a rebuttal to that part to strengthen our team's argument. At the end of the final argument, one of our team members made a touching comment, asking us to consider the situation of developing countries. It was an emotional comment, but I think it was well-received. | I am curious about the secret to your excellent performance of 2nd place despite being an undergraduate. I knew that law school students also applied for this competition. I thought that we would not be able to surpass the graduate students with our legal knowledge, so I think that focusing on expressing our arguments fluently in English worked positively. I think the secret to making it to the quarterfinals was that we were good at making impromptu rebuttals compared to undergraduate students. We organized the expected arguments of our opponents in advance, prepared rebuttals, and delivered them in an organized manner on the spot. In addition, I think our strong teamwork and answering the professor’s questions well during the trial were the secrets. | What was the most difficult part of preparing for the competition? Since the preparation period for the competition was summer vacation, most of the team members were overseas. It was difficult to coordinate meeting times considering the time difference. The preliminary round involved writing and submitting a written argument, and I think the most difficult part was writing about 50 pages in English for both countries. Due to the nature of international law, which is codified but has weak binding force, trial results tend to follow existing international law-related precedents. Therefore, it was difficult to review a large number of precedents one by one and interpret and apply international law provisions to the case. | Please tell us what you felt or learned from this competition. Dong: I realized that international law is not only about provisions but also about case law. I felt that it was not as easy as domestic law because there were many exceptions to each provision and various case law materials. I continued to be in charge of the defense of Country T, which was relatively disadvantaged compared to Country A, but I realized once again that ‘everything depends on what you do’ because I got good results. Jeon: I discovered the mistake of writing ‘product’ as ‘porduct’ in the written defense submitted in the preliminary round after I passed the main round. I learned the lesson of checking for typos thoroughly until the end. Han: I think I was able to develop my legal skills. It was a beneficial opportunity to gain legal insight and learn that legal provisions can be interpreted in dual meanings. Jang: Through this competition, I studied trade in depth and felt that this field was a good fit for me. In addition to trade, there are many mock trial competitions related to international law, such as maritime law. If I get the chance, I would like to participate in another competition related to international law. | Please give some advice to students who are interested in or preparing for the mock trial competition. The mock trial competition is a competition that many law school students apply for, so it can be nerve-wracking, but there were also quite a few undergraduate teams. I recommend that you don’t be too nervous and take on the challenge with a light heart. There is a sense of distance that comes with the word mock trial, but if you approach the mock trial as a debate with multiple issues, you will be able to reduce the burden. In addition, you need to use various methods to find theories and precedents, and thoroughly prepare arguments and counterarguments to fill in the gaps in the relatively lacking legal background knowledge of undergraduate students. Opportunities come to those who are prepared. I hope you will give it a try, whether it is a death sentence or a meal. Original source: Sungkyun Webzine No. 549 (https://webzine.skku.edu/skkuzine/section/people01.do?mode=list&articleNo=121217)

[Student Interview] Kim Se-yeon (Geulgyeong 23) Interview on Participation in the 2024 School of Business Administration
2024-10-29
1. Hello, first of all, please introduce yourself and the university you are dispatched to. Hello, I am Kim Se-eun, class of 23, Department of Global Management. The school I am dispatched to is ‘Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin (HWR),’ a large school with over 12,000 students. It is famous for being a university that embraces students of various nationalities. 2. What motivated you to participate in the 2024 Global Summer Program? ‘Will bungeoppang sell well in Germany?’ This is a question I seriously asked my friends when I was a German major in high school. I had a serious dream of starting a business and was interested in Germany to the extent that I wrote a business plan to export bungeoppang as a street snack to Germany and showed it to my entrepreneurship professor and German friends and asked for their opinions. The subject offered in the Global Summer Program this time, ‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management in Germany (EIM),’ was a subject where you could learn entrepreneurship in the home of startups. After reading the syllabus, I decided to participate because it was full of things I really wanted to learn. 3. What activities did you do there? What was the most memorable one among them? For three weeks, I attended classes from two professors who were in the startup field from 9 am to 12 pm every day, and instead of just sitting in the classroom, I had the opportunity to go out into the streets and interview the subjects of the problem or go on an experiential learning trip to the Berlin startup incubator. The first week was a concept class, and in the second and third weeks, we worked together on a group project to ‘resolve the inconveniences of Berlin tourists’. It was really fun to be in a team with foreign students and experience different cultures. The most memorable thing was the presentation I had prepared for the past two weeks at the startup incubator on the last day. Also, since I had free time after class, I participated in entrepreneur networking events held in Berlin, attended free external entrepreneurship education, and visited startup companies in Berlin that I was interested in. It was a very valuable time where I gained a lot of insight. 4. What did you learn from this global challenge? I learned that defining the problem accurately is important. Not only for starting a business, but also for living a happy life. I felt that carefully observing your own life and the lives of others, stopping for a moment to think, “What is the problem? Is that really the problem?”, quickly creating a prototype, and continuously refining it is in fact a methodology for starting a business and a methodology for life. I also learned the fun of adapting to many unfamiliar faces and people of different nationalities in a foreign country where I had no familiar faces, creating a routine, and happily taking responsibility for myself. 5. What are your future plans? What are your future career paths and goals? For the time being, I will probably focus on my studies, but ultimately, I would like to recruit great team members and realize my ideas in the market. I feel that Berlin is a great environment for starting a startup, so if I have another chance to go to Berlin as a student or aspiring entrepreneur, I would actively consider it. 6. Lastly, if you have any stories to share with your fellow business school students, please share them with us. This was my first time living abroad for more than two weeks, so I had so many worries that I couldn't sleep before my departure, but I realized from the moment I arrived that all my worries were meaningless. If a problem arose, I could solve it by searching or asking people around me as long as I had Wi-Fi. It may seem obvious, but if you put your worries aside for a moment and challenge yourself to do what you want to do, I think you'll all be able to fill your life with enjoyable experiences. Fighting!

Fintech MBA Kim Shin-ok alumni's 'Next Payments' wins 3rd place in 'SuperNova Challenge', a pitching competition at the
2024-10-28
‘Next Payments’, where Kim Shin-ok, a third-year FinTech MBA student at our university, serves as vice president, beat the odds of 0.3% and took third place in the ‘Supernova Challenge’. 'Next Payments', which supplies AI Store, an artificial intelligence smart retail technology for small businesses, to the world, participated in the world-class startup fair, 'Expand North Star', and won 3rd place in the pitching competition, 'SuperNova Challenge'. This is the only achievement among Korean startups. 'Expand North Star', held in Dubai every October, is attended by thousands of startups, thousands of professional investors, and hundreds of speakers. It is also well known as a bridgehead for startups to enter the global market, with many workshops, IPOs, and networking events covering technology, media, and innovation. This year, over 1,800 startups from around the world, 1,200 investors, and 450 speakers participated to discuss various aspects of innovative technologies and create a cooperative system. The Supernova Challenge has been a side event of Expand North Star since 2019, where promising startups from around the world compete for a prize of $200,000 (about 270 million won). The Expand North Star organizers said that thousands of startups that participated in the event applied for the competition. This year, startups from 69 countries around the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas, participated over a period of six months. Among them, NextPayments, which is leading the artificial intelligence smart retail technology AI Store, beat out fierce competition to advance to the finals. As a result of the final competition with 20 teams, NextPayments came in third place and took home the prize money of $35,000 (about 48 million won). Founded in 2019, NextPayments has been rapidly growing in the domestic retail tech sector by developing various smart store solutions such as kiosks, smart payments, and robots for small business owners. In particular, it is supporting the digital transformation of small business owners by participating in the smart store technology distribution project of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Small Business Market Promotion Agency. It is then grafting artificial intelligence onto these technologies to analyze data generated in stores, utilizing AI technology to improve customer experience, maximizing operational efficiency, and providing solutions that provide insights into customer behavior. The result is AI Store. All the technologies and devices of the AI store are connected to the cloud. The kiosk and smart payment system collect information such as the products purchased by the consumer, the time of visit, gender, and age. This is analyzed to create customized services for consumers, including product recommendations. By analyzing order and payment information, it is possible to predict popular products and trends by time zone, as well as manage inventory and automatically order products. If you add robots that make and deliver products, you can build a 24-hour unmanned automated store. Existing smart store technologies have solved the labor shortage problem by utilizing human automation. NextPayments AI Store goes one step further and uses AI to increase the operational efficiency of the store itself. Examples include building customized services based on consumer behavior data, analyzing sales based on store data analysis, and establishing customized marketing strategies. AI consumer response, promotional content production, and optimization of store operation environment are also the blueprint for the future smart store drawn by NextPayments. Last March, NextPayments was selected as an official partner of ChatGPT developer OpenAI, drawing attention. Thanks to this, it was able to introduce rich AI technology to the AI store. Since then, NextPayments has been accelerating the use of AI technology in the retail tech sector by advancing its NextAI assistant solution using OpenAI’s API. Based on its collaboration with OpenAI and its achievements in winning the Supernova Challenge, it has expressed its ambition to make AI smart retail technology a reality and deliver it to small business owners around the world. Ji Kwang-cheol, CEO of Next Payments, said, “Following the success of our small business smart store support project in Korea that led to the digital transformation of the distribution industry, we have also proven the utility of AI smart retail solutions overseas. We will lead the global smart retail solution market with our K smart store technology, including AI stores. We will strive to ensure that our technology can be utilized for a better world.” Original text: Dong-A Ilbo, ‘NextPay AI Store, Breaks 0.3%, 3rd Place in Supernova Challenge’, Reporter Cha Ju-kyung, 2024-10-17 (https://www.donga.com/news/It/article/all/20241017/130240815/1) Photo source: NextPayments

Interview with Team Nexa, a Fintech MBA student who won the Encouragement Award at the "2024 7th Fintech Idea Contest"
2024-10-21
Could modern people imagine a life without mobile banking? Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, and account transfers are all convenient ways to enjoy financial life with just a few touches on the phone screen. We are not aware that all of these technologies are fintech technologies. Fintech, which is closely related to our lives, is a compound word of financial and technology, and refers to technologies related to financial services such as mobile payment, remittance, personal asset management, and crowdfunding. The Korea Fintech Support Center successfully concluded the awards ceremony for the 7th Fintech Idea Contest on August 29. Hosted by the Financial Services Commission and organized by the Korea Fintech Support Center, this year’s contest solicited fintech-related ideas under the theme of “Fintech-related business models and business and technology ideas.” A total of 94 ideas were submitted, and after the first document screening, 9 excellent ideas were finally selected. Among the 9 excellent ideas, Team NEXA, consisting of our university’s Fintech MBA alumni, won the Encouragement Award for their idea of “AI SasS-based unlisted company analysis solution.” Let’s meet Team NEXA, which looks to the future of finance and technology development, through an interview. Q. Hello, please introduce yourself. We are Team NEXA, comprised of the third batch of Fintech MBA students at the Graduate School of Management. Team NEXA, comprised of Lee Seon-yeong, Lee Si-woo, Park Su-hyun, and Kim Tae-i, entered the Fintech MBA program in February of this year and formed a team while preparing for the Fintech Korea 2024 idea contest. The team members are active in various fields. Lee Seon-yeong works as a PB at a securities firm that provides financial services to high-net-worth individuals, and Lee Si-woo works as a fund manager at an asset management company. Park Su-hyun works as an IT planner at an insurance company, and Kim Tae-i works as a corporate IR at a listed company. Q. Congratulations on winning the Encouragement Award at the 7th Fintech Idea Contest. I would like to hear your thoughts. The preparation period was not long, and the process of materializing the idea was not sufficient, so I had no expectations of winning an award. When I heard that I was selected as the Encouragement Award winner, I was surprised but happy. I received many congratulations from my fellow Fintech MBA students and professors. My advisor bought me an expensive lunch (laughs), and I also received a prize money, so I am happily thinking about how to spend it with my colleagues. In fact, since all of my team members are working in the field, we didn’t have much time. However, the process of revising ideas and preparing materials with my team members until the deadline itself was meaningful. Above all, I think it will remain as a good experience that I was able to understand what strengths and capabilities each team member has. Q. I heard that you entered the contest with the theme of ‘AI SasS-based unlisted company analysis solution.’ Please explain the award theme. The award-winning idea is a service that helps with corporate valuation and analysis of unlisted companies. It is a solution that provides investment opportunities for unlisted companies to general investors through a data-driven decision-making model. Investment decisions on unlisted companies are not easy. This is due to the limitations of information access and the complexity of data analysis. Except for institutional investors and financial professionals, it is not easy for ordinary people to obtain data on unlisted companies and use it as information. It is difficult to know where to find information on unlisted companies, and even if you do find it, you may be concerned about the reliability of the information. Although over-the-counter prices are available on various unlisted investment platforms, it can be difficult to determine whether the prices are appropriate and compare them with similar companies, which can make investment decisions difficult. Therefore, the solution we came up with starts with compiling massive unlisted company information scattered everywhere and performing data processing. Data processing uses machine learning to classify company data into various categories such as the company's corporate value, investment history, investment stage, industry, and performance (sales and operating profit, etc.) and provide information. Through this process, the goal is to provide general investors with investment needs in unlisted companies with useful information necessary for investment decisions. As a revenue model, I thought of providing ideas to consumers in the form of providing reports, automatic review of contracts accompanying unlisted stock transactions, and venture capital fund management support. In addition, if general investors trade unlisted companies with high-quality information, I think there will be many advantages in terms of the naming effect of the unlisted companies and the future financing of venture companies. Q. How did you come up with the idea for the above topic? Was there a special reason? It is an idea that came from connecting the experiences of two alumni and the concept of fintech asset management. Siwoo Lee is currently managing a fund that invests in unlisted venture companies, and Seonyoung Lee has experience leading unlisted investments targeting high-net-worth individuals. There are more than 100 companies newly listed on the stock market every year, but accessing information on unlisted companies before they are listed is quite difficult. Asset management is also an important area within the larger concept of fintech, and fintech and AI are closely related. Therefore, I thought it would be possible to provide information on unlisted companies using AI and launch services related to asset management. Park Soo-hyun, who is currently in charge of IT planning at an insurance company, created a dashboard and plan for model implementation, and Kim Tae-i, who is currently in charge of IR, developed this into a business-oriented document. Q. The term fintech is not a familiar term to students. Could you explain what ‘fintech’ is? Fintech refers to technology-based innovation that will bring about “disruptive change” to existing financial services. In other words, it refers to financial innovation in which new business models, applications, and processes lead to new financial products. The scope of fintech is very broad, including payment and remittance, loans, asset management and investment, blockchain, and digital currency. Korea, an IT powerhouse, is currently in the process of becoming a financially advanced country, and in this process, I believe that there are very large business opportunities and development potential for fintech. Q. Were there any difficult or challenging parts while preparing for this competition? Since all of our team members are office workers, the most difficult part was that we didn’t have much time, and we revised our ideas and supplemented our materials until the deadline. We had to implement the ideas we had conceived into actual business models, but since there weren’t many solutions that could be used as case studies, we had some difficulties in this area. The teamwork was good. Each team member works in a different field, and I think it was meaningful to take out each of our work weapons and make them into a single model. Q. You are currently enrolled in the Fintech MBA program. Is there anything you are particularly interested in related to Fintech recently? I am thinking about whether there are any new ideas related to Fintech. Recently, we are sharing ideas with alumni from various fields of finance in the startup club that was created in the Fintech MBA program, and we are planning how they will look in the actual market. Of course, we are also thinking about commercializing the ideas that we entered in this contest more specifically. The Fintech MBA program not only provides various basic education on digitalizing various fields of finance, but also provides a foundation for exchanging ideas with people who are actually working to gain experience in realizing them. We will study further and develop a solution for analyzing unlisted companies based on AI SasS. Q. What is the most important material in fintech? Recently, the key materials in fintech can be summarized as digital payment technology, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and digital asset management. I will briefly explain each material. First, digital payment technology. Digital payment methods such as mobile payment, contactless payment, and QR code payment are spreading worldwide. This has the advantage of allowing both consumers and stores to increase payment speed, strengthen security, and reduce costs. Second, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. AI is used for loan screening, providing customized customer services, and detecting fraud. Fintech companies are developing by providing more efficient and personalized financial services using AI. Third, blockchain. You may have heard a lot about virtual currency. Blockchain is widely used to improve the transparency and security of financial transactions. It also plays an important role in the management and transaction of digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, so development in financial services related to fintech is expected. Lastly, digital asset management. Automated asset management systems such as robo-advisors are gaining popularity, allowing customers to manage their assets at a lower cost and automate their investment strategies. Q. I think you saw many ideas related to fintech at this competition. What did you feel or learn from this competition? I learned that fintech can be applied very flexibly to various industries and problem solving. In particular, ideas for solving the wage remittance problem of foreign workers and solutions for improving payment convenience through prepaid cards well reflected the important goals of expanding financial accessibility and improving convenience. Ideas such as apartment real estate purchase loan funds and unlisted company analysis platforms showed the possibility of increasing accessibility to the financial market even for small investors. I felt that these ideas had great potential in solving existing complex financial processes and information asymmetry. Overall, this competition made me realize once again that fintech technology is positioned as an important tool for solving social and economic problems. It was a valuable experience that allowed me to gain insight into how various technological approaches can be applied to real life. Q. Could you give me some advice for students who are interested in fintech? One of the technologies that has drastically changed our lives in the past few years is AI. The fintech industry is one of the industries that is closely evolving with the development of AI technology. Currently, the fintech industry in Korea is heavily focused on payment systems, but the sub-fields that fintech encompasses are actually very diverse and wide. In particular, core technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and mobile payments are redefining the future of finance. If you are interested in fintech, in-depth study of these technologies and trends is essential. Our university’s fintech MBA program comprehensively covers topics such as AI-based financial innovation, blockchain and digital asset management, and sustainable fintech strategies, and is characterized by the teachings of excellent professors and the fact that students with practical experience study fintech together. I hope that everyone is aware of the infinite potential for fintech development and takes an interest in various directions. Q. If there is a field or goal you would like to study further in the future, please tell us. I would like to understand more deeply the changes brought about by the Big Blur phenomenon in the financial sector, and think about customer-centered solutions through more innovative and efficient ideas by combining AI and digital technology. In addition, I would like to study a little more about whether it can complement and develop the existing financial industry. Original source: Sungkyun Webzine No. 548 (https://webzine.skku.edu/skkuzine/section/people01.do?mode=list&articleNo=121069)

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