[Startup Institute Lecture Series #5] ‘Impact Investment and Advice for Entrepreneurs’ – Sopoong Ventures Co., Ltd. CEO Han Sang-yeop      The fifth lecture of the Lecture Series, organized by Korea University Business School (Dean=Jae Wook Kim) Startup Institute (Director: Hojung Shin), was held on October 13th  (Tue). The Lecture Series is part of the Seung Myung-Ho Center for Entrepreneurship Education, an educational institution within the Startup Institute, and is a lecture by start-up mentors who actively work in the field. The special lecture titled "Impact Investment and Advice for Entrepreneurs" by CEO of Soopoong Ventures Han Sang-yeop, was conducted as a real-time online lecture due to the COVID-19.   Sopoong Ventures Co., Ltd., which CEO Han Sang-yeop has been a representative partner since 2016, makes ‘impact investments.’ Impact investments are investments that focus on social values and takes the form of an existing financial investment but considers what kind social value is created by the firm that receives the investment. CEO Han claims that the identity of Sopoong Venture Co., Ltd isan ‘impact accelerator’. This means that it will not only provide financial investments but also provide support for companies that have received investments to grow and "accelerate."   CEO Han explained that impact investment does not just mean 'good investment'. Impact investments are located above the spectrum between financial and social values, thus setting the balance between the two values can be different for each investor. Also, paying attention to social values does not mean that the rate of returns is falling. The return of return on impact investment is said to be higher than the market average. Due to the characteristics of millennials and Z generation that put high value on social values, impact investment has been growing rapidly not only globally but also in Korea for the recent 1~2 years. As an investor with start-up experience, CEO Han offered advice for prospective entrepreneurs, such as △define the problems and solutions, △set short-term goals, and understand the competitive environment. He then wrapped up his lecture by introducing investment processes that students need to know as a prospective entrepreneur, and standards for evaluating entrepreneurs from the perspective of an impact investor.  

Notice of 2021 Spring Graduate School Applications ... Fostering researchers with up-to-date knowledge and superb research skills     Korea University Graduate School Department of Business Administration is now accepting applications for PhD and MS programs of seven majors and a master’s degree on Business Analytics(BA). There are seven business administration majors: △Management that researches effective and efficient strategies, organizations, leadership and motivation, conflict mediation and control for achieving organizational goals, △International Business which covers strategy development, supply chain management and sustainable management of global firms based on the understanding of international finance and trading environments, △MIS(Management Information Systems) which researches various IT(big data, AI, blockchain, cloud computing, digital platforms etc.) and its usage to create value and solve problems in a rapidly changing digital business environment, △LSOM(Logistics, Service and Operations Management) which aims for rational decision making based on analyzing data and modeling goods/service/production systems using economics, math and statistics, △Marketing which aims to create exchanges that achieves organizational or personal goals by defining and managing markets, △Finance that researches how investors, financial firms, and companies fund capital, manage risks, and further studies how these decisions affect firm value and efficiency of capital allocation based on an understanding the theory of asset preference, △Accounting which valuate and reports firm activities to stakeholders based on the motto that what cannot be measured cannot be managed. Master’s degree, a two year full-time program, requires at least four semesters of registration. Students are required to take at least thirty credits of the course work, eight credits of research guidance courses, passing the foreign language test and comprehensive exam, and pass a thesis to receive a master’s degree. The MS/PhD integrated program are offered those who completed their undergraduate studies. Students must register for at least six semesters and take at least 54 credits of course work and 12-16 credits of research guidance courses. PhD programs are offered to those with a master’s degree, and requires at least four semesters of registration, at least 36 credits of course work, and eight credits of research guidance courses. The MS/PhD integrated program and PhD program both require taking courses that the academic advisor designated, passing the foreign language test and comprehensive exam, passing a thesis and publishing at least one SCI(E) level research to receive the degree. The BA master’s degree is a concentrated, single year program that fosters all-round individuals who are proficient in both theoretical background and analytical skill of data analysis and information extraction, essential in business management in the age of the fourth industrial revolution and digital transformation. The BA master’s degree is composed of 6 modules and requires 24 course work credits. A thesis is not required, but participation in a capstone project is necessary.   Process Korean applications Foreigner applications Online Application period Oct.5th(Mon)~Oct.19th(Mon) Sep.7th(Mon)~Sep.18th(Fri) (due) Document reception ~Oct. 20th(Tues) ~Sep. 25th (Fri) Interview Nov. 14th(Sat) Acceptance announcements Dec. 10th (Thur)  (expected date)   Graduate School Department of Business Administration and BA master’s degree applications are separately run for Korean and foreigners. Korean applications are received online from October 5th(Monday) to October 19th (Monday), and original documents of online applications must be submitted by October 20th (Tues). Admission results are planned to be released in December, after interviews on November 14th (Sat). Visit graduate school homepage (http://graduate.korea.ac.kr) or KUBS homepage(http://biz.korea.ac.kr) for further details regarding applications. Any inquiries should be made to Office of MS/PhD Programs (02-3290-1363/1365). KUBS Graduate School, Department of Business Administration is contributing to the development in the field of Business by fostering researchers with up-to-date knowledge, excellent research abilities and superb communication skills.  

CDTB Colloquium Held...LG's Extensive Innovation Using AI Technology     The CDTB Colloquium, hosted by Korea University Business School (Dean=Jae Wook Kim) and organized by the Center for Digital Transformation & Business (CDTB), was held on September 25 (Friday).   Lee Hwa-young, who is in charge of AI strategy for LG Science Park's AI (Artificial Intelligence) promotion team, was invited as a speaker and the lecture was held under the theme of "LG's Advanced AI Use Cases" through an online platform due to COVID-19. LG Science Park is a convergence research complex where R&D talents from various fields such as electronics, chemistry, bio, and software are gathered in one place, and investment and cooperation are conducted to find startups in key competencies needed for future preparation of LG Group and secure new technologies.    Lee Hwa-young began the lecture by introducing specific improvements made by LG in two main fields of AI: "Fundamental" area that develops machine learning technology in the short term and improve the security and accuracy of AI technology in the long term, and "Applied AI" that applies the technology to various industrial sectors to bring out economic, social and cultural impact.   Lee explained in detail that LG has achieved 'halo effect' by applying deep learning and machine learning technologies in various fields such as new drug development, anti-cancer treatment, product defect check, and customer management, including saving a total of $39 million annually in battery field based on artificial intelligence technology.   Moreover, Lee emphasized LG has focused on the fact that Google, which has a leading position in Machine Reading Completion (technology for listening to human questions and finding answers in unstructured documents and answering them correctly), is vulnerable to the Korean language field, and introduced examples of LG beyond Google in the Korean language field by applying 400 million data sets of Korean sentences.   After the lecture, the Q&A session was held. One question was about the concern of job problems caused by AI. Lee replied, "If existing simple, repetitive, work-oriented jobs are replaced by AI, new types of jobs will be created, which will greatly offset the decline." He also mentioned that in the medical sector, AI technology can significantly improve productivity and improve work environment satisfaction as AI and automation technologies replace dangerous manual and emotional labor, by providing relative examples of LG's accomplishments.   At the end of the special lecture, Lee Hwa-young said, "If you think about how to effectively integrate AI into business administration, and study math and statistics at the same time, you can become a better business student," stressing the steady interest in related areas.   Meanwhile, Korea University Business School established CDTB in 2019 to serve as a platform for connecting industry-academic research and leading the era of digital transformation in education and research, and is planning and conducting special lectures.  

KU Achieved the Highest Pass Rate on the 55th CPA Examination…. No.1 for 5 consecutive years   Korea University produced the largest number of successful applicants in the 55th CPA examination. Total of 127 Korea University students have finally passed the second round of 2020 55th CPA Exam for Certified Public Accountants which was held on June 27 (Sat)-28 (Sun). This achievement reaffirms KU’s position as the best institute for nurturing certified public accountants, with the highest cumulative numbers for 5 consecutive years since 2016.     Korea University has produced a total of 127 successful CPA candidates in the 55th CPA exam, which was followed by Yonsei University with 106, Chung-Ang University with 103, Sungkyunkwan University with 98 and Kyung Hee University with 85. (Source: Korean University Newspaper's September 11th press release) In the first round of the exam held in February, Korea University also had an outstanding performance as it was the only university with more than 200 successful applicants, with 240 students passing the first round. Korea University reaffirmed its status as the best institute for nurturing CPA by widening the gap between second place in the final exam (more than 20), and producing a total of 127 successful applicants, up 18 from 2019.   These laudable achievements were made possible by the support of the university. Korea University Business School (KUBS) runs a CPA prep program called “Jeongjincho (精進礎, Advisor=Professor Han Sang Yi). Jeongjincho conducts entrance exams three times a year to select 69 students in order of exam results, and anyone enrolled in Korea University can apply regardless of their major. Jeongjincho provides separate spaces, monthly mock tests, online lecture fees, and mentoring programs with senior successful applicants so that students can focus on CPA study.     >> Introduction of Jeongjincho    

Korea University Business Major produces the most Top 100 CEOs  KUBS(Dean= Kim Jae Wook) was selected as the single major of a university to produce the most Top 100 CEOs in Korea.   According to the ‘2020 Top 100 CEOs’ announced by Han Kyung Business, KUBS produced the most CEOs as a single university major this year, following last year’s equally superior performance.   Among Top 100 CEOs, 28 majored in business. Among them, seven were KUBS graduates, followed by six from Yonsei University Business, five from Seoul National University Business major, two from Sungkyunkwan University Business major and so on.    △President of LS, Koo Ja Yeol (Business ‘72) △Samsung C&T CEO Lee Young Ho (Business’ 78) △CJ CheilJedang CEO Kang Shin Ho (Business’ 81) △SK Telecom CEO Park Jung Ho (Business’ 82) △ President of Korea Investment Holdings Kim Nam Gu (Business’ 83) △SK Global Chemical Co. CEO Na Kyeong Su (Business’ 84) △Hyundai Motor Company Chief Vice President Jung Eui Sun  (Business’ 89) are the Top 100 CEOs who graduated KUBS.   Within Korea University, majors of △Law (3) △Physics(1) △English Language and Literature(1) △Plant protection (Currently Biotechnology, 1) △Electrical Engineering(1) followed KUBS in the majors that produced Top 100 CEOs.  

[Startup Institute Lecture Series #4] “The Innovation of Laundry makes the Innovation of Food, Clothing, and Shelter” – Laundrygo CEO Cho Sung-woo   The fourth lecture of the Lecture Series, organized by Korea University Business School (Dean: Jae Wook Kim) Startup Institute (Director: Hojung Shin), was held on September 22nd (Tue). The Lecture Series is part of the Entrepreneurship Academy hosted by the Seung Myung-Ho Center for Entrepreneurship Education - an educational institution within the Startup Institute, and is a lecture conducted by start-up mentors working in the field. This lecture was titled "The Innovation of Laundry makes the Innovation of Food, Clothing, and Shelter," and was delivered by Cho Sung-woo, CEO of Laundrygo. It was conducted as a real-time online lecture due to the COVID-19.   CEO Cho Sung-woo has been operating a mobile laundry service called 'Laundrygo' since 2018. "The change in laundry can even bring about innovation in the living space," CEO Cho said, explaining the company's name and the meaning of the lecture title. If the laundry service is activated, it can replace the space occupied by washing machines and drying racks in the living space.   Cho introduced his experience in running the social commerce "Dumb n Dumbers" in the past, naturally sharing his episodes of failure. Cho's episode gives the message that various experiences, regardless of failure or success, could eventually lead to new business ideas. The business idea of Laundrygo also came from a happening in which all of his belongings were stolen from a trip to the United States, but except his laundry.   Laundrygo is the start of untact laundry services and a new generation of the laundry business, Cho said. As the third-generation laundry business that connects the first and second generations of the local laundry industry with the franchise laundry, it has a total of five core competitiveness: △mobile laundry service, △untact delivery, △smart factory, △all-in-one service, and △subscription economy. Unlike the previous generation of laundry, Laundrygo does not rely on offline stores, so full online services can be maintained at no additional cost. In addition, all services will be carried out without any contact using ‘Laundlet', a smart laundry collection box developed by the company. Smart factory reduces the cost of washing and keeps the quality of washing process consistently. Laundrygo will implement an "all-in-one service" that will unify the laundry space that had been dispersed to laundry, coin laundry, and home etc. by providing various services such as water washing as well as dry cleaning. Lastly, the company is making excellent use of the subscription economy by offering various price systems according to various lifestyles.   In addition, the company uses eco-friendly vinyl clothing, and also enforces eco-friendly policies such aas collecting clothing covers and hangers from customers, while recycling and reusing them. Moreover, the company is seeking ways to accumulate big data on people's actual medical lives through laundry and utilize them in various ways in the fashion industry. Lastly, Cho wrapped up his lecture by presenting two phrases: "Don't lose your original intention" and "Pursue your mission, not the trend."