To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Sungkyunkwan University SKK GSB organized a series of "Where are you now?" interviews with alumni to find out how they are doing in their careers and what life has been like since graduation.

SKK GSB Professional MBA Class 14th Graduate: Minkyung Kim

When starting her MBA at SKK GSB in 2022, Minkyung Kim was working in the project department planning cross-border e-commerce strategies at Shinsegae Group's SSG.com.

She was assigned the task of analyzing the internal and external environment and closely reviewing the company's business structure to establish necessary business strategies. While working in this department, she developed an interest in strategic planning roles.

She said, "In order to become an expert in the field of strategic planning, I thought I first needed to build a solid foundation in finance. While working at a major domestic enterprise, I realized I wanted to experience a global environment, which led me to choose SKK GSB, where 60% of the faculty come from diverse backgrounds and all classes are taught in English."

Minkyung, who studied intensely with her peers over the past two years, said that the "Financial Risk Management" class by former Dean Jae Ha Lee was the most memorable.

She said, "Among all the finance courses, it was one of the most challenging, and it wasn't easy until the very end. However, after completing the course, I was able to discover a stronger version of myself."

Minkyung stated that interacting with professors of various nationalities and peers working at international companies allowed her to acquire global communication skills, which is one of the assets she gained at SKK GSB.

She added, "Since last year, as a side project, I have created an international platform to connect senior and junior leaderships from Europe and Korea. The global communication skills and mindset I gained at SKK GSB have been a great help."

Minkyung also mentioned that by witnessing the passion of her peers who balance work, family, and studies in the MBA program, she realized that 'there is no such thing as too late to start what I want.' In her 30s, she gained the courage to live the future in her 40s and even 50s with more leadership and confidence.

It was a time when the job market was in a frozen state, but by the time she reached her second year of the MBA program, she began receiving interview offers from global companies and major domestic enterprises.

Minkyung chose CJ ENM, which she felt was the best fit for her, and is currently a member of the strategy planning team in the commerce division, based on TV home shopping and mobile e-commerce, just as she had hoped.

She explained her current role by saying, "I publish reports by analyzing the trends and data in the retail market. I need to accurately and quickly extract the information my team members need and combine it with internal data indicators to assess the competitiveness of the business."

She is also supporting the development of global expansion strategies by leveraging her past experience working on projects with global e-commerce companies such as Amazon and Rakuten.

Minkyung, who says that being a business leader seems to imply that one can become someone who has a bigger and wider social impact than a doctor, or even a politician, at times, dreams of growing into a leader with both global competence and expertise.