A Hub of Innovative Ideas – E-MBA ELITE Project Presentation  Korea University Business School’s Executive MBA (E-MBA) held the ELITE (Executive Learning & Interactive Team Exercise) Project Presentation on Saturday, August 9, at SUPEX Hall, LG-POSCO Building.  A hallmark of the E-MBA curriculum, the ELITE Project is a field-oriented educational program that applies management theories and methodologies learned in class to the resolution of real-world business challenges. The project culminates in presentations that showcase the outcomes of multiple rounds of research and development, guided and advised by faculty members.  A total of 46 students from the 22nd E-MBA cohort participated in the event, forming five teams. They proposed a variety of business models reflecting the latest market trends, including healthcare and wellness services, new online platform-based ventures, and O2O commerce models tailored to the senior demographic. Each team demonstrated a thorough and practical approach, covering everything from problem definition and expert interviews to market and profitability analysis and execution planning. Presentations were evaluated on multiple criteria, including business feasibility, innovation, feasibility of implementation, quality of materials, and presentation skills.  The judging panel included Professor Joonghyuk Kim (Academic Director of the 22nd cohort), Professor Daeki Kim (Academic Director of the 23rd cohort), Kwangsun Kim (President of the E-MBA Alumni Association), Deokcheon Kim (Senior Vice President of the E-MBA Alumni Association), and Jongil Hwang (Executive Vice President of the E-MBA Alumni Association). Faculty advisors included Professors Weon Sang Yoo, Byung Cho Kim, Jaiho Chung, Kyung Sam Park, and Seung-Weon Yoo. Contributing to the vibrant atmosphere, 27 members of the 23rd E-MBA cohort also attended the event.  During the Q&A session following the presentations, an active exchange of in-depth feedback took place between the judges and the audience. The judges highly praised the participants, stating, “The innovative ideas and solid market analysis were impressive, and the proposals were concrete enough to be immediately applicable in real-world business settings.” They also noted the participants’ passion and practical capabilities.  Professor Joonghyuk Kim, Academic Director of the 22nd cohort, commented, “The ELITE Project is more than just a presentation assignment—it is a hands-on training ground for solving real business problems. The passion and creativity each team demonstrated will surely translate into tangible achievements in their professional careers.” Kwangsun Kim, President of the Alumni Association, added, “I am proud of the students who, despite balancing work and studies, have achieved such remarkable outcomes in such a short time.” He also commended their dedication. The final awards ceremony is scheduled for Friday, September 5, the first day of the second E-MBA semester.  Meanwhile, the E-MBA program operates the ELITE Project to enable students to examine organizational challenges and directions for change through a managerial and theoretical lens, while actively engaging in real-world problem-solving. The program aims to nurture global decision-makers with independent thinking and emphasizes the sharing of practical knowledge, analysis, and solutions among peers.  Moving forward, the E-MBA will continue to advance its educational programs to strengthen practical leadership and cultivate next-generation leaders capable of driving change across society and industry.

Reading the Future with Data, Changing the World with Ideas – The 6th DAB Competition  The 6th DAB (Data Analytics for Business) Competition took place on Friday, August 8, at LG-POSCO Hall, Room 432. The DAB Competition is an annual event hosted by the CDTB (Center for Digital Transformation & Business). It helps students better understand new business strategies in the era of digital transformation and provides them with an opportunity to propose creative and feasible business models using public and corporate data.  This year, nine teams participated, presenting the following project themes:  △ON:da (Index-based weather insurance to help small businesses manage risk)  △RunningX (Personalized running route recommendation service)  △Finding Nemo (Optimal route planning for AI-powered marine waste collection robots)  △Reconnection (Support for social reintegration of reclusive youth)  △TtareungPang (Optimizing redistribution efficiency for public bikes)   △Ttasoom (Pedestrian navigation service for the elderly)  △InMaDanDi (Supporting short-form ad planning for influencers)  △JeonSAFE (Risk evaluation model for areas vulnerable to jeonse fraud)  △HippoKUrates (Improving emergency patient transfers through real-time ER information sharing)  The mid-term review was conducted in an interactive discussion format. After each team’s presentation, Professor Jeunghyun Kim posed questions and provided feedback, to which students responded on the spot. Participants shared in detail the background of their topic selection, data collection and analysis processes, current progress, and future tasks. Some teams had already developed predictive models or employed visual materials, demonstrating a high level of project maturity.  After all presentations, Professor Kyung Sam Park provided in-depth feedback to each team, bringing the mid-term review to a close. Participants plan to actively engage with faculty and refine their projects based on the feedback received. The final presentations and awards ceremony will be held in November, where outstanding teams will receive awards along with opportunities for collaboration with companies and institutions.  A CDTB representative stated, “The DAB Competition serves as an important stepping stone for students to grow into future leaders equipped with analytical, planning, and collaboration skills by gaining hands-on experience in solving real business problems through data,” adding, “We will continue to strengthen our role as a digital innovation hub that bridges education, research, and industry through interlinked programs such as bootcamps, colloquiums, and capstone projects.”  Meanwhile, Korea University Business School operates CDTB, an open collaborative platform aligned with the era of digital transformation, where businesses, academia, and research institutions come together. CDTB goes beyond mere knowledge delivery and aims to foster problem-solving talent who can creatively tackle real-world challenges through practical, hands-on education that integrates technology and management. 

Interview with SK Research Award-Winning Professor – Professor Kwangtae Park  In 2025, Professor Kwangtae Park of Korea University Business School co-authored a paper titled “Protecting Workers from Rude Customers to Enhance Organizational Identification in Emotional Labor Environments: A Study with Call Center Agents,” which was accepted for publication in the international journal Production and Operations Management and selected as the winner of the SK Research Award.  This study empirically analyzed how dealing with rude customers in emotionally demanding call center environments induces emotional dissonance among workers and thereby undermines their organizational identification.  In particular, the study demonstrated that customer protection policies and supervisors’ servant leadership act as key moderating factors that mitigate these negative effects. It highlighted that institutional support and leadership at the organizational level play a vital role in sustaining employees’ organizational commitment.  The research was highly acclaimed not only for its academic contribution but also for providing practical insights into sustainable human resource management, offering valuable policy implications that extend beyond academia.    Q1. First of all, congratulations on receiving the SK Award. How do you feel about this recognition?   A1. Thank you. I am very pleased and honored that this study has been recognized for making a meaningful contribution to both practice and academia. I feel especially gratified that it offers insights which can genuinely help alleviate the challenges faced by frontline workers in emotionally demanding environments such as call centers.    Q2. Could you briefly introduce your award-winning research?  A2. This study is an empirical examination of how rude customer behavior in emotionally demanding environments—particularly call centers—affects workers’ organizational identification (OID). It demonstrated that customer protection policies and supervisors’ servant leadership help alleviate workers’ emotional dissonance and, in turn, sustain their organizational identification.    Q3. What motivated you to begin this research?   A3. The study was inspired by the first author’s first-hand experience working in a call center. The industry tends to focus on efficiency-focused technical approaches while paying relatively little attention to the fundamental issue of emotional labor. In Korea in particular, despite legislative progress, on-the-ground implementation often falls short. This gap between nominal protection policies and their actual execution—what we call “decoupling”—ultimately motivated us to conduct this research.    Q4. How do you think your research findings could impact society and industry?  A4. Beyond its academic contribution, this research highlights the importance of improving practical policies and strengthening leadership training to better protect employees engaged in emotional labor. We believe that when companies implement such protection policies genuinely—not merely to meet legal requirements—these efforts can enhance organizational identification and employee retention, providing meaningful implications for the industry as a whole.    Q5. Could you share your future research plans or topics of particular interest?  A5. In the future, we plan to conduct comparative research examining how emotional labor environments in other industries (e.g., hospitals, finance, retail) influence organizational performance. In particular, exploring how AI-based customer service systems are transforming employees’ emotional labor would be an especially intriguing avenue of research.    Q6. What message would you like to share with students?  A6. Research is not just about testing theories; it begins with asking meaningful questions about real-world problems. Even small inconveniences or curiosities in your daily life can become excellent research topics. I encourage you to pursue research that is alive and closely connected to practice.    The following is a summary of Professor Park Kwangtae’s paper.  "Protecting Workers from Rude Customers to Enhance Organizational Identification in Emotional Labor Environments: A Study with Call Center Agents"  This study empirically examined how emotional dissonance—the gap between genuine feelings and the emotional display required by the organization—arising when call center employees deal with rude customers, undermines their organizational identification (OID). Over time, such dissonance erodes employees’ sense of belonging and engagement.  The study also examined two moderating factors: employees’ perception of customer protection policies and supervisors’ servant leadership. The findings indicated that employees who perceived customer protection policies as genuinely enforced experienced less negative impact from emotional dissonance, and those working under supervisors who practiced servant leadership maintained higher levels of OID. Notably, for long-tenured employees—who are more susceptible to accumulating emotional dissonance—effective enforcement of protection policies could still mitigate these adverse effects.  Overall, this research empirically demonstrated that institutional support at the organizational level and human-centered leadership are critical in maintaining and strengthening workers’ organizational identification in emotionally demanding environments. 

" Meeting Future Tigers” — Successful Conclusion of the 19th Youth Mentoring Day The 19th Youth Mentoring Day (hereafter referred to as Mentoring Day) was held on Saturday, August 2, at LG-POSCO Hall and Hyundai Motor Hall Designed for high school students from across the country, Mentoring Day was independently organized by KUBE, the student ambassadors of the Business School, with Business School students serving as mentors.  The day’s program featured a welcome address by Associate Dean Hyun Seung Na, an introduction to the Business School and its majors, a special lecture by Professor Dongseop Lee, a campus tour, hands-on business practice sessions, mentoring sessions with seniors under the theme “This Is How I Got into KU Business”, as well as group photos and souvenir distribution.  The event opened with a welcome address by Associate Dean Hyun Seung Na of the Business School. To break the ice, Professor Na asked, “Who traveled the farthest to be here today?” and presented a KU Business jacket to the student who had come the longest distance. He went on to highlight, “Korea University boasts 120 years of history, and the Business School has grown alongside it,” while engaging students with a quiz about the school’s history. Students who answered correctly received a tiger plush toy as a prize.  This was followed by an introduction to the Business School led by KUBE ambassadors Chaewoo Lee and Junseok Hong. They guided students through key campus facilities, including the main Business Hall, LG-POSCO Hall, and Hyundai Motor Hall. They highlighted, “It is rare for a single college to operate three independent buildings, and it is especially meaningful that both LG-POSCO and Hyundai Halls were built entirely through alumni donations.”  The Business School’s signature scholarship program, the Dream Scholarship, was also introduced. This scholarship provides living stipends to help students concentrate on their studies in a stable environment. They also introduced opportunities for students to study abroad through in-house exchange programs administered by the Business School’s International Affairs Team. Students were also introduced to KU’s vibrant campus life, featuring events such as the Daedong Festival, Ipselenti, and the annual Korea–Yonsei Games, which drew enthusiastic responses.  During the major introduction session, KUBE ambassadors Jeong Yeop Lim and Hyo Won Ahn used the familiar theme of “ramen” to explain the nine concentrations within business administration. They connected each field to real-world examples such as production, distribution, and marketing, making the concepts both engaging and easy to understand. The session concluded with a quiz, and students who answered correctly received small prizes, sparking enthusiastic participation.  Professor Dongseob Lee delivered a special lecture titled “Business and Ethics – What Is the Purpose of a Corporation?” The lecture offered students an opportunity to reflect deeply on corporate social responsibility and business ethics.  In the afternoon, the program continued with a campus tour, practical sessions, and mentoring activities. Participants explored major facilities of the Business School, as well as iconic KU landmarks such as the Main Hall and Central Plaza, allowing them to experience the campus atmosphere firsthand.  In the “One-Day Consultant Experience with KUBE,” students had the opportunity to explore business administration in practice by developing management strategies based on real company cases. In the “This Is How I Got into KU Business” mentoring session, student mentors shared practical advice on GPA management, preparing for entrance exams, and application strategies drawn from their own experiences. The mentors warmly encouraged the participants, saying, “We hope you enter KU Business as freshmen and join us as baby tigers.”  The 20th Youth Mentoring Day is scheduled for the upcoming winter break, and students can register through the Korea University Business School KUBE website (biz.korea.ac.kr/kube). 

Best English Thesis Award Ceremony for Spring Semester 2025   The Best English Thesis Award Ceremony for the first semester of the 2025 academic year was held on Monday, August 11, at the KUBS Dean’s Office. The Best English Thesis Award is presented every semester to promote excellence in English-language thesis writing and to recognize the efforts of graduate students who produce outstanding work. Dean Eonsoo Kim and Associate Dean for Research Daeil Nam attended the ceremony to congratulate the awardees. A total of six graduate students were recognized. The awardees and their thesis titles are as follows:  △ ZHANG TONGTONG (MS, LSOM): Incentive Mechanisms for Government-Enterprise Joint Emergency Supplies Reservation: A Multi-Period CSR-Adjusted Model  △ Yehun Bae (MS, Management): Leaders Asking for Help: Disclosing Vulnerability or Signaling Competence? A Moderated Mediation Model of Leader Help-Seeking Style, Perceived Leader Competence, and Follower's Willingness to Help the Leader  △ CLUZEAU ANGELIQUE CHARENTE (MS, Global Business): Firm Size and Entry Mode Choice: Examining the Moderating Effect of Firm-Specific Assets  △ Dain Kim (MS, Marketing): Does the Variety of User-Generated Images Affect Review Helpfulness?: Exploring the Moderating Role of Brand Logo  △ Youngsun Park (MS, Finance): Liquidity Regulation in the Presence of an Unregulated Banking  △ Jooyeon Oh (MS, Strategy): Prior Firm Performance and Unrelated M&A: The Moderating Effect of CEO Risk Hobby 

First Steps as a Researcher — 2025 Fall Semester Graduate Orientation, Department of Business Administration  Korea University’s Graduate School of Business Administration held its 2025 Fall Semester Graduate Student Orientation on Monday, July 28, at Room 432, LG-POSCO Hall. The orientation was designed to provide new graduate students with essential academic information and guidance on the research environment, supporting them in planning their future academic journey.  The event began with opening remarks by Professor Dae Il Nam, Chair of the Department of Business Administration. Professor Nam introduced himself as a researcher specializing in business strategy and startups, and said, “Our department offers one of the best research environments in the country, and I hope you take pride in conducting your research here.” He went on to say, “Since you have made the significant decision to pursue graduate studies, I hope you will find a research topic that truly excites you.”  The orientation program then officially began. The session included an overview of the department’s organizational structure, introductions of the heads of each major, as well as guidance on the curriculum, course registration, and domestic academic exchange programs.  In addition, the session provided detailed guidance on essential aspects of graduate student life, including graduation requirements such as the comprehensive examination, foreign language proficiency test, and thesis submission qualifications; academic procedures such as the application and change of academic advisors; scholarship and research funding opportunities; participation in the BK21 program; and the use of academic databases.  The session concluded with basic announcements, including Korea University Business School and Graduate School websites, the university portal and research portal, research lab and locker assignments, and student ID issuance.  After the general orientation, students were divided into their respective majors for separate orientations. Through this program, new students received detailed information on their major curriculum, key research areas, and plans for their future studies and careers.    One new student remarked, “Graduate school life used to feel vague, but today’s orientation made it much clearer,” adding, “While I feel a bit nervous as I am just starting out, I am also excited to embark on a new journey of learning and research.”  This orientation served as the first official event to guide new students on their journey as researchers in business administration and to share essential information for their graduate studies.  Participants celebrated the start of their graduate journey by sharing their expectations for future research and academic endeavors.