Q. How was your life as an undergraduate student?

In fact, I could hardly attend any classes in my first and second years because nearly all the classes were canceled because of the democratic movement. We rarely had tests and were mostly graded based on our report papers. So, I do wish that I could have taken more courses in my first and second years. After that, I began to take more classes in my third and fourth years, and became interested in economics on the national or state level rather than microeconomics, which focused on business management. This led me to take the higher civil service examination in my fourth year. I failed the exam the first time because I was not fully prepared, and I enrolled in the master's program at the Graduate School of Administrative Studies to pursue my dream.

Q. What are the most memorable courses you took as an undergraduate?

I have two courses I still remember. The first one is International Business Management, taught by Professor Dong-Sung Cho. South Korea was not a member of the OECD when I was in college, which was why it was nearly the first time I heard about the word "international" in the course. The course was an invaluable experience, as I was instilled with a global mindset. Another course was Professor Won Soo Kim's Principles of Business Management. In the classes, Professor Kim rarely talked about companies but focused on paradigms, such as the paradigms and principles that change the world, the frameworks by which the world functions, and perspectives toward the world. This course made me think about the philosophy that lies within policies later when I was a public official establishing policies.

Q. Please tell us how you became the President of the SK Center for Social Value Enhancement Studies after completing your master's course. 

After completing my coursework at the Graduate School of Administrative Studies, I passed the higher civil service examination. Since I was interested in finance out of the many fields in the higher civil service examination, I joined the Ministry of Finance. I worked as a civil servant for 25 years, during which I tried to experience as much as possible. On a state-sponsored scholarship, I studied abroad at the University of Missouri for my doctorate in economics. I also worked at the Blue House, the IMF, and as the resident finance officer in New York. I believe I worked in the United States for about a decade. I then received an offer from the SK group while working as a government official. I realized that while I did  initially choose to take the higher civil service exam out of my interest in the national economy and worked as a government official for 25 years, it was odd that I had no experience in companies as a business administration major when companies are the main agents of the economy. I eventually accepted the offer and joined the SK Research Institute. 


Q. Now, let's go back to your current position; what is the mission of the SK Center for Social Value Enhancement Studies? 

Many of you must have seen the movie Extreme Job, and the Institute's motto is, "There was never a researcher like this." I do not think there has been any researcher who worked exclusively on social values. Some researchers focus on each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations, but there has been no researcher working on the overall social values. In that sense, the Institute is slightly unusual. 

The Institute largely focuses on "measurement" and "incentives." We study how we can measure how many social values a company creates and how incentives can be used to maximize them. You must be familiar with Peter Drucker who famously said, "You can't improve what you don't measure." Business administration is a study of management, and to manage, everything has to be measured and quantified, just like financial statements are measurements of financial values. We, therefore, aim to quantify social values like financial values and identify the incentives that can motivate many economic agents to create social values. 

Q. How important is ESG in managing companies these days?

Social issues nowadays are increasing geometrically, but our ability to solve the issues only increases arithmetically. In other words, our ability to solve social issues is falling behind the rate of increasing social issues. While the government solved social issues in the past, it is now impossible for the government to address them all. This is why the demand for the role of companies is increasing. Recently the World Economic Forum stated that a "Company is more than an economic unit." in the Davos Manifesto II (2020). Now the pursuit of ESG values should be another important agenda rather than being something collateral. 

Q. What measures should executives take to put ESG into practice?

During the Saemaul Undong period, when the South Korean economy developed at an exponential pace, there were four core values. They were the "4H," that is, the Head, Heart, Hand, and Health. I think executives should also understand ESG in the context of 4H. They should have accurate knowledge and understanding of ESG (Head), truly empathize with the values (Heart), and should share the values to their employees and change their behavior (Hand) and establish an ecosystem so that the entire company can put it into practice (Health). They should never green-wash the company by pretending to go green. Rather than simply focusing on CSR and making donations, a widespread innovation in business models should take place in consideration of ESG. 

Q. Do you have any advice for the undergraduate students at SNU Business School?

I went to a Christian middle school. Once, during the minister's sermon, one minister came up to the stage and said, "Boys, be ambitious!" It was my first time hearing the saying, and the minister told us not to limit ourselves to Happo, Masan, where the school was, but to look at the Pacific Ocean and give our very best. He wanted us to live life with big dreams. His advice stayed with me for a long time and allowed me to think about "my ambition" whenever I had to make important decisions in life. I hope that you look at the big future instead of the present and live to fulfill your ambitions by thinking about "what is to be" rather than "the things that are as is."