Infinite Challenge! It’s never over until it’s over… Global CEO special lecture by Jungsoo Park

On March 9, the Global CEO special lecture, hosted by Korea University Business School (Dean=Sang yong Kim), was held in Hyundai Motor Hall room 303. The lecture was delivered by Jungsoo Park, CEO of CNF system. It focused on his entrepreneurial story including his challenges, failures, retries, and strength to overcome crises. CEO Jungsoo Park is also a fellow alumnus of Business School alumnus, having completed the 86th Advanced Management Program(AMP) and 1st ESG AMP.

To begin with, he emphasized challenging new fields with youth. Although he had attempted an IT start-up in his late 30s, it came to failure due to the Subprime Mortgage Crisis, a global financial crisis that occurred in 2007. Describing the situation, he said that “in Korea, most people tend to seek a stable job because there are not enough support systems that could help people get back up after failing entrepreneurship.” However, he decided to start over and re-challenged entrepreneurship. In the process, he especially realized the importance of people because his family and part of his staff followed him, even when he had left everything he had. CEO Jungsoo Park advised that “To earn your people, you must begin with a mindset of cherishing and respecting them first,” warning that one must first be honest and diligent with oneself in order to respect others, or one can collapse at any time.

He also introduced six of his friends who gave him the strength to overcome crises. The six friends introduced by CEO Jungsoo Park were reading, transcribing, meditation, taking walks, music, and movies. He said “reading books can make you a good leader,” saying that reading and hand-transcribing books can double the learning. Adding on, he said taking a walk alone or meditating can help organize one’s thoughts when deep contemplation is needed, and advised that music and movies can also help refresh one’s feelings and relieve stress. After introducing these six friends, he confidently stated that if one could truly befriend even one of these, it could be greatly beneficial in life.

Moving on, he emphasized the importance of an optimistic and persistent mindset. Especially, he encouraged students preparing to become certified public accountants to persevere and challenge themselves until the end once they have chosen this career path. He stressed that it is because one can achieve something if one keeps on going instead of just giving up and ending the situation.

Lastly, he delivered three messages he wanted to tell the students. First, “life is a marathon.” Just like the phrase “Live to a hundred years,” he advised that one must assume life will be hundred years long and find a job to pursue for a hundred years, instead of only what is easy and stable. Second, he mentioned the saying “It ain’t over till it’s over,” by Yogi Vera, a US major league baseball player. He urged the students not to become a failure by giving up, for life is just like sports; no one knows the outcome, and it’s not over until it’s over. Third, “love your close ones.” Rather than talking to distant people on the smartphone, he advised the students to share love with their close ones such as family and friends, and especially to say “I love you” to parents.

CEO Jungsoo Park was flooded with students’ questions after his lecture. To a student who asked about ways to earn people, he advised to be honest, hardworking, and have trust in people. Also, when making a hundred-year life plan, he suggested that it is beneficial to consider whether one’s job is something one can take ownership of, or if one would be dragged along like a part of a machine.

 Despite having faced failure once, CEO Jungsoo Park never gave up and pursued his goal until he found success in his retry. Reminding students of his philosophy of “Infinite challenge,” and “it’s not over until it’s over,” the lecture concluded with success.