Korea University Business School Strengthens Practical-Oriented Education, Introduces New Microdegrees and Concentration Tracks    Korea University Business School is introducing a new curriculum beginning in the spring semester of 2026 to respond to the rapidly changing landscape of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and to cultivate future-ready talent. This initiative aims to deepen disciplinary expertise and strengthen practical skills, enabling students to proactively respond to the evolving business environment.      ■ Introducing Two Microdegree Programs for Intensive Skill Development    A Microdegree is a compact certification program that allows students to complete focused coursework in a specific field. Students who complete at least 12 credits, including designated courses, will automatically receive a certificate upon meeting the requirements, without the need for a separate application. Completion will also be recorded on their academic transcript.    Korea University Business School is introducing the following two Microdegrees :    [4Tech Business: AI Value Chain]  This program aims to cultivate interdisciplinary talent capable of understanding key future technology industries such as AI, robotics, semiconductors, and energy, and applying this knowledge to corporate strategy and business models. Beyond basic technical understanding, the program focuses on analyzing the impact of technological advancement on industrial structures and value chains, as well as developing capabilities in planning new technology-based businesses and formulating strategies.    The program consists of eight courses offered in collaboration with the School of Smart Mobility and the Department of Integrative Energy Engineering.    [Startup Business Leader]  This program provides a systematic understanding of the entire startup process, including idea generation and validation, market analysis, business model design, and the development of execution strategies. It aims to strengthen problem-solving and decision-making skills required in real-world startup environments, while also fostering an entrepreneurial mindset.   The program consists of ten courses offered in collaboration with the University College and the Interdisciplinary Program in Technology Entrepreneurship.    ■ Introducing the ‘AI and Business’ Concentration Track to Deepen Disciplinary Expertise    Korea University Business School has introduced a new ‘AI and Business’ track to its existing concentration track system. A concentration track is an advanced program within the major that grants a certificate upon completion of at least 18 credits of track-specific courses, enabling structured and in-depth learning in a particular field.   With this addition, the Business School now offers a total of five concentration tracks, in addition to existing tracks in Business Analytics, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Social Value and Sustainability in Business, and Financial Analysis and Investment.    The ‘AI and Business’ track aims to cultivate professionals capable of applying artificial intelligence technologies to managerial decision-making and business strategy. Students will progressively develop practical, interdisciplinary skills that integrate technology and business, including data analysis, algorithm-based problem solving, and AI-driven strategy development. Through this program, students are expected to grow into future business leaders capable of navigating digital transformation and AI-driven decision-making environments.    ■ Educational Innovation for the Future Industrial Landscape    The Business School has continuously refined its curriculum based on a student-centered educational philosophy to reflect changes in the corporate and broader social environment. The introduction of these new programs is part of this strategy to support students in developing into interdisciplinary leaders equipped with practical competencies.   Students are also expressing strong interest in the new curriculum. A student majoring in Business Administration commented, “As AI technologies are rapidly spreading across industries, I think it is very timely to introduce a curriculum that reflects these changes,” adding, “It will be very helpful in preparing for future careers, as it allows us to develop competencies that integrate both technology and business.”    Detailed information on requirements and program structure for the new programs can be found on the Business School website (https://biz.korea.ac.kr) or by contacting the administrative office (02-3290-2702).

  Professor Angela Aerry Choi of Korea University Business School received the SK Award for March 2026 for her research examining how the partitioning of digital content affects consumption and engagement.      Acceptance Remarks by Professor Angela Aerry Choi    This research began with a simple question: how does the way digital content is divided and delivered influence consumption and engagement? It was a meaningful experience to discover interesting patterns—some of which were unexpected—through real user data. Going forward, I hope to continue conducting research that offers new insights based on actual consumer behavior.    Research Overview    Paper Title : To Split or to Merge?: How Partitioning Affects Consumption and Engagement with Digital Content   Journal : Information Systems Research (ISR)   Publication Year : 2025   Summary of Key Findings :    This study examines how different ways of delivering the same digital content—partitioning it into smaller segments versus merging it into larger units—affect consumption and engagement. By comparing a structure in which the same e-book content is divided into short episodes (SP) with a structure composed of longer episodes (LP), the study shows that the two approaches lead to distinct consumption patterns.    The results show that the SP structure increases overall consumption (measured by the number of words read), whereas the LP structure is more effective at encouraging readers to finish the content. In addition, the LP structure promotes more active engagement, such as annotations and highlights, and leads to longer, more informative reviews as well as increased follow-up purchases.    This study demonstrates that a simple “partitioning strategy” in digital content can have a significant impact on user experience and behavioral outcomes, and offers practical implications for platforms and content creators regarding effective content design.    ▶ View the original paper: To Split or to Merge?: How Partitioning Affects Consumption and Engagement with Digital Content 

  Professor Kyuhan Lee of Korea University Business School received the SK Awards for his research proposing an AI model that detects fake news by analyzing human “intent” embedded in text.      Acceptance Remarks by Professor Kyuhan Lee    I am honored to receive the SK Award once again. As a researcher, I have always considered it my responsibility to publish in top academic journals, and I have worked diligently toward that goal. Receiving this additional recognition from the university makes it even more meaningful. I am truly grateful for programs such as the SK Award that provide incentives for researchers’ efforts, and I will continue striving to share more of my research with the broader academic community.    Research Overview    Paper Title : Intent-Driven Machine Learning for Fake News Detection: A Referential Domain Adaptation Approach   Journal : Production and Operations Management  Publication Date : January 2026  Summary of Key Findings :    Unlike conventional research in business administration, this study involves the direct development and testing of an AI model. Specifically, it proposes a novel AI model from a sociological perspective that can automatically detect and handle fake news. In particular, the model more accurately estimates the probability that a given news article contains false information by leveraging human intent inferred from the text.   Previous AI research has often struggled to accurately capture intent in text due to limited data. This paper addresses this limitation by proposing and applying a method that utilizes auxiliary data not directly related to intent recognition to infer the intent of news content. When applied in real-world scenarios, the model developed using this methodology produced significantly superior results compared to models built on advanced language models such as GPT.   The findings of this study suggest that developing computational algorithms grounded in social science theory can lead to superior outcomes, and is expected to contribute to the advancement of future research in this area.   ▶ View the original paper: Intent-Driven Machine Learning for Fake News Detection: A Referential Domain Adaptation Approach 

  Professor Daehoon Noh of Korea University Business School received the SK Award for his research on the impact of competition between ride-sharing platforms and autonomous robotaxis on the market and social welfare.      Acceptance Remarks by Professor Daehoon Noh    I am sincerely grateful that this research has been published in Management Science and has received the SK Paper Award from Korea University Business School. This paper analyzes the impact of competition between two distinct business models—ride-sharing platforms and autonomous robotaxis—on the market and social welfare.  I would like to express my gratitude to my co-authors and fellow researchers who contributed to this work, as well as to the university for providing a supportive research environment. Moving forward, I will continue to pursue my research with dedication while exploring, from an objective perspective, the changes in the industrial ecosystem brought about by technological innovation. Thank you.   Research Overview    Title of Paper :  Evolution of Ride Services: From Ride Hailing to Autonomous Vehicles  Journal : Management Science Publication Date : January 26, 2026 Summary of Key Findings :    This paper analyzes the competition between platform-based ride-hailing (RH) firms and vertically integrated autonomous vehicle (AV) robotaxi firms.   The key difference between the two models lies in the vehicle supply model. AV firms must invest in and own vehicles upfront, thereby fixing capacity through significant capital investment. In contrast, RH firms can flexibly adjust vehicle supply without incurring sunk costs by adjusting the revenue-sharing rate with drivers.   The study finds that RH firms have a strong strategic advantage due to the flexibility of their platform-based business model. The main findings are as follows :   First, when customers are less sensitive to waiting time, RH firms dominate the market even if they face a cost disadvantage. By credibly threatening price reductions, RH firms deter excessive investment by AV firms, ultimately achieving shorter waiting times, higher market share, and higher profits.   Second, when a new AV firm enters an existing RH monopoly market, a paradoxical outcome may occur: despite increased competition, total vehicle supply decreases and customer waiting times increase.   Third, when an inefficient AV firm enters a market where customers are highly sensitive to waiting time, incumbent RH firms strategically reduce vehicle supply to avoid intense competition. As a result, customer waiting costs increase, leading to a decline in overall social welfare.   In conclusion, this study demonstrates that a decentralized platform model without asset ownership has an advantage over a capital-intensive AV model. It therefore suggests that regulators should be cautious about indiscriminately subsidizing or facilitating the entry of inefficient robotaxi services solely because they are based on new technology.

  Professors Hyun Seok Lee and In Joon Noh of Korea University Business School received the SK Award for their research that empirically examines how organizations learn from crises and develop recovery capabilities, based on an analysis of drug shortages in the United States.      Acceptance Remarks by Professor Hyun Seok Lee    I am deeply honored and grateful to receive this SK Award. This study empirically examines how organizations learn and build recovery capabilities following crises, based on the significant social issue of drug shortages in the United States. It is especially meaningful that our second paper on drug shortages has also been accepted for publication in Management Science, following our first paper. It is also very meaningful to have co-authored this work with my colleague, Professor In Joon Noh, who works in the same field.   I hope that collaboration among the outstanding faculty at Korea University Business School will continue to grow, supported by ongoing encouragement and institutional support. I will also continue striving to pursue research that combines academic rigor with meaningful social impact.    Acceptance Speech by Professor In Joon Noh    I am very pleased and honored that the paper we have worked on for a long time, together with my colleague Professor Hyun Seok Lee, has been accepted for publication in our target journal.    I hope our research can contribute, even in a small way, to understanding and addressing the issue of drug supply shortages. I also look forward to continuing to pursue meaningful research through collaboration with outstanding scholars both in Korea and abroad.    Research Overview    Title of Paper : Learning in Recovery from Disruption: Empirical Evidence from the U.S. Drug Shortages  Journal : Management Science  Publication Status : Accepted for publication; volume, issue, and official publication date to be determined  Summary of Key Findings :    This study examines whether pharmaceutical manufacturing plants learn from repeated drug shortages in the United States and recover more quickly as a result.   Drug shortages directly affect patient treatment, making them not only production disruptions but also a significant social issue. By analyzing approximately 5,000 cases from 2015 to 2020, the study finds that plants with more experience in resolving past shortages tend to return to normal operations more quickly when new disruptions occur. However, this learning effect is more evident in cases caused by internal factors, such as production disruptions or quality issues, and is less effective in addressing external factors such as raw material supply problems or sudden spikes in demand.   Furthermore, the experience accumulated at one plant does not easily transfer across plants within the same company. Ultimately, the study highlights that rather than simply experiencing crises repeatedly, it is more important to systematically organize and share the solutions developed on-site. It also suggests that for external causes, there are limits to what companies can achieve on their own, and that policy support is also necessary.

Professor Sang Yong Kim Publishes Management Essay “Management Beyond the Classroom”     Professor Sang Yong Kim of Korea University Business School published his essay Management Beyond the Classroom in March 2026, which applies core concepts of management to individual life and career design.   The book extends key concepts traditionally used in corporate management—such as positioning, competitiveness, leadership, and resource allocation—into strategies for personal life. It reinterprets management not as a discipline solely for corporations, but as a tool for self-management, emphasizing that individuals must strategically design their own lives in a rapidly changing world.      Professor Woochan Kim Appointed as Advisor to the Growth Division of the National Economic Advisory Council    Professor Woochan Kim was appointed as an advisor to the Growth Division of the National Economic Advisory Council on March 1, 2026. The council is a presidential advisory body established under the Constitution and is responsible for advising on major policy directions for the national economy.    In particular, the Growth Division advises on mid- to long-term economic policies, including enhancing industrial competitiveness and promoting innovation-driven growth. This appointment reflects Professor Kim’s expertise in corporate governance and capital markets.      Professor Hyun Seung Na Inaugurated as the 43rd President of the Korean Securities Association    Professor Hyun Seung Na was inaugurated as the 43rd president of the Korean Securities Association. He assumed the role at the 50th General Meeting held in February, with a term running from March 1, 2026, to February 28, 2027.    Professor Na currently serves as a faculty member in finance at Korea University Business School, while also holding the positions of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Chair of the Department of Business Administration. The Korean Securities Association, founded in 1976 and celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, is a leading academic organization in finance in Korea, with approximately 1,500 members.      Professor Kwanho Suk Publishes Research Methods in Behavioral Science   Professor Kwanho Suk has published Research Methods in Behavioral Science, a book that systematically presents research methodologies used in behavioral science. The book focuses on empirical research methods using quantitative data collected through experiments and surveys, while also explaining various research designs and hypothesis testing approaches.    It covers the entire research process—from developing research ideas to publishing results in academic journals—and serves as a practical guide to help readers make methodological decisions aligned with their research objectives and contexts.      Professor Jay Hyuk Rhee Publishes Research on Industrial Water Sustainability in Nature Water    Professor Jay Hyuk Rhee of Korea University Business School has published a paper in the international journal Nature Water. The paper, titled “A quantitative metric for industrial water use sustainability for environmental, social and governance reporting,” proposes a quantitative metric for evaluating the sustainability of industrial water use.    This study is significant in that it establishes a framework for systematically incorporating the environmental and social impacts of water usage into ESG reporting systems. It is particularly noteworthy for providing a practical analytical framework applicable to corporate sustainability assessments and policy development.       Professor Jay Hyuk Rhee Publishes Sustainability and ESG Management    Professor Jay Hyuk Rhee has published Sustainability and ESG Management in February 2026. The book systematically presents corporate sustainability strategies centered on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles. It goes beyond theoretical concepts by presenting practical approaches to ESG management through real-world corporate cases.   The book is expected to serve as a valuable guide for both students and practitioners preparing for the ESG era.