1. Hello, Professor. It is a great pleasure to meet you. I heard you were appointed as an Associate Professor in the Department of Business Administration at Hallym University. A belated congratulations to you. Could you please introduce yourself and share your thoughts on the appointment?

Hello. I am Yong-geun Kim, and I am in charge of HR and Organizational Behavior (OB) in the Department of Business Administration at Hallym University. I teach courses such as Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Furthermore, drawing on my diverse practical experience, I also serve as the head professor of the Startup Business major within the College of Business, researching and teaching entrepreneurship and startups.

After graduating with a bachelor's degree in English Literature and Business Administration from Dongguk University, earning my master's degree in HR/OB at Seoul National University became the catalyst for pursuing a career in this field. Realizing my limitations due to a lack of practical experience during my master's program, I decided not to jump straight into a Ph.D. Instead, I broadened my understanding by working in CJ's HR team and at IBM as an HR/OB consultant. Later, to further strengthen my expertise, I began my Ph.D. program at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU). During my doctoral studies, I moved to the HR/OB Research Lab at the POSCO Research Institute, eventually completing my Ph.D. in 2016.

Because I started my Ph.D. after gaining practical experience, I have always tried to bridge corporate practice with academic research. After earning my degree, I had many opportunities to integrate practical projects at the POSCO Research Institute with academic studies. Notably, after transferring to POSCO, I served as a team leader and group leader in a CEO-direct organization overseeing sustainability management strategies for about six years. This allowed me to deeply consider how a company can grow alongside society. Even while working in the industry, thanks to the company's consideration, I was able to teach sustainability management courses as an adjunct professor at POSTECH, Hanyang University, and SKKU, and served as the Deputy Director of the POSTECH Sustainability Research Institute. I believe that holding onto these academic ties bore fruit with my appointment as an Associate Professor at Hallym University in September 2024.

Located in Chuncheon, Hallym University is the only private university selected in the first phase of the Glocal University project in Gangwon Province. The university is pursuing various strategies to counter regional depopulation. In particular, it actively promotes entrepreneurship education that connects the local region with the globe, as well as education geared towards solving social problems. I am thoroughly enjoying my work here, utilizing my practical background to create new educational models together with the students.

2. What made you choose the Ph.D. program in Management at Sungkyunkwan University?

First and foremost, my biggest motivation was the desire to expand the problem-awareness I developed in the field into academic research. Honestly, due to credential inflation, people around me also advised that I would need at least a Ph.D. to be recognized as a true expert.

While considering which university would be the best fit, I chose SKKU because it fostered a welcoming atmosphere for industry professionals entering the Ph.D. program. I also expected that creating a synergy between my practical knowledge and theoretical concepts during classes would be highly beneficial.

However, after enrolling, I realized firsthand that a welcoming atmosphere did not mean the process would be easy. I changed jobs to the POSCO Research Institute during my studies, and balancing my new work with my academics became so difficult that I had to take a leave of absence for a year and a half. Fortunately, under the guidance of Professor Dong-ok Cha, I was able to successfully conclude my 7-year Ph.D. journey.

3. Could you introduce the research topics you focused on during your Ph.D. and your major achievements?

During my Ph.D., I primarily focused on leadership research with my advisor. Taking into account the actual manifestations of leadership I had observed in the field, I earned my degree with research on distributed and shared leadership. Since then, I have continuously strived to connect various HR/OB issues with academic research. I believe this is the most important habit I formed during my doctoral studies.

Currently, the scope of my research has expanded slightly to encompass sustainability and entrepreneurship grounded in HR/OB, but I always keep in mind that "people" are at the core of it all. These research efforts have received meaningful recognition at both domestic and international conferences. I received the HR Division Best Paper Award at the AOM Annual Meeting in 2022, and the Best Paper Award from the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration in 2020. Continuing my research, I was honored to receive the Academic Award from the Korean Business Management Association in 2024, and the Best Presentation Paper Award from the Academy of Human Resource Development in 2025.

Additionally, my research and educational activities in sustainability and social value creation led to my selection as a 2025 Stanford Sustainability Changemaker, and being invited to the Stanford Sustainability Summit remains a fond memory. Moving forward, I plan to continue conducting research that offers meaningful implications for both businesses and society by bridging HR/OB with sustainability management.

4. What is your personal teaching philosophy, teaching method, and ideal vision of an educator?

My core teaching philosophy is that "learning is completed outside the classroom."Since business administration is a discipline aimed at solving problems in actual organizations and society, I believe theoretical learning must be paired with the experience of exploring real-world issues. Therefore, in my classes, I highly value Problem-Based Learning (PBL), where students identify real problems and seek out solutions.

For instance, I run projects where students explore local community issues and develop them into startup ideas, and I operate global programs that allow them to experience overseas startup ecosystems firsthand. Recently, I provided an opportunity for students to directly explore the global startup environment and validate their ideas through the "Glocal Solve-a-thon@NY" program held in New York.

I believe an ideal educator is not merely someone who transmits knowledge, but a facilitator who helps students discover their own potential and grow. Therefore, I strive to provide a safe "playground" where students can freely explore and experiment.

5. Finally, do you have any advice for SKKU students and graduate students who are preparing to become professors?

I feel very cautious about giving advice to my juniors, as I consider myself incredibly lucky to have caught these opportunities. Looking back, academia is not something you do alone; it is a process of growing together with good fellow researchers. I hope you cherish your current relationships and treat them with sincerity. The unseen support from those people becomes a tremendous source of strength both on your journey to becoming a professor and after you achieve that goal.

However, that does not mean you should simply rely on others. Ultimately, you are the one who must carve out and build your own path—no one else will do it for you. If you build strong connections with the excellent professors at SKKU and participate in research diligently, I am confident you will achieve great results. I sincerely cheer for you all to build a wonderful research community together as fellow SKKU alumni.