Discover Your Own Way of Living through Experience.. Global CEO Talk by Kyungseon Chung

On October 27th, the Global CEO Talk, organized by Korea University Business School (Dean= Kim Sangyong) took place in Room #433 of the LG-POSCO Business Hall. The speaker for the special lecture was Kyungsun Chung, a graduate of the 2005 class of KUBS, who has pursued an MBA at Columbia University in the US and went on to establish Root Impact and HGI, where he currently serves as the CEO. Additionally, Kyungsun Chung is the grandson of the late Hyundai Group founder Juyoung Chung and the eldest son of Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Group chariman Mongyoon Chung.  

Firstly, Kyungsun Chung introduced himself, highlighting that being the grandson of chairman Juyoung Chung served as a foundation for pursuing non-profit activities. This background significantly influenced his decision to venture into social enterprises, emphasizing Chairman Juyoung Chung’s belief that social enterprises should focus on job creation.  

During his time at KUBS, Kyungsun Chung founded the Event Planning Club, “KUSPA” at Korea University, and Creative Share in 2008. Both were initiated with the pledge ‘to change the reality where socially ethical youth are mistreated,’ marking the beginning of his journey as a social entrepreneur. Through KUSPA and Creative Share, he invited social entrepreneurs, organized talk concerts and established a university alliance club. Continuing these events, he promoted them and shared a social perspective with people. CEO Kyungsun Chung recommended these activities to the students, saying “these activities were beneficial during my time at KUBS.”  

Subsequently in 2012, Kyungsun Chung founded Root Impact as his first challenge. Root Impact contemplated on how to contribute to the society and eventually decided to focus on social and environmental issues. Selecting Seongsu as a social venture cluster, he explained that “its status as an industrial area made it affordable, convenient in terms of transportation and it is also close to Gangnam.” Currently Root Impact is discovering and educating change-makers, fostering an ecosystem.  

While Root Impact focused on education change-makers, HGI is an investment company assisting financial support for social ventures like Root Impact. HGI has invested in over 10 companies, keeping an eye on climate and environmentally friendly actions (alternative energy, energy efficiency) and innovations for sustainable living (agricultural technology, food technology, digital solutions.) Kyungsun Chung shared this investment philosophy, saying that “more money and people are converging into ESG funds” and “The importance of ESG is increasing.” 

Additionally, Kyungsun Chung highlighted climate crisis and aging as prominent issues we face. Due to the slower progress in science and technology compared to previous years, healthcare expenditures are significantly impacting GDP. Consequently, he emphasized “The need to talk about what is necessary and what is good or bad when we do something has increased.”  

The lecture concluded with a Q&A session. First, one student asked about the profitability of social enterprises. Profitability of social enterprises is a big problem for the sustainability of social enterprises. Kyungsun Chung answered “social enterprises sustain themselves through investments and sponsorships, with profits coming from areas such as investments and revenue rather than sales. Regarding the most important consideration in investment decisions, he emphasized ‘potential.’ He explained that ‘potential’ is assessed based on how much people need it, focusing on social value and suitability. Finally, he ended his lecture with advice to the students. 

“Meet people from diverse background and engage in conversations. It will become an opportunity to think about diverse issues and problems. Also, strive to find your own way of living through various experiences. There is no specific condition to become a successful entrepreneur, and anyone can become one.”