Past Trajectories

Four turning points that led my life to explore the origins and sources of great business ideas

I dreamed of becoming an aerospace engineer when I entered college.
However, after going through some unexpected hassles, I found myself fitting more with human and public affairs, rather than the logic of nature and technologies.
That was the moment when I was taking a course that covered the history of Korea’s Science and Technology policy and concurrent issues within Korea’s Innovation System. Throughout the course, I was inspired by the contributions of Korean policymakers to economic growth and development (the so-called miracle of the Han River). Also, a variety of wicked issues that Korea’s scientists and engineers struggled with, which I could recognize by going through some case studies as a part of the coursework, also motivated me to challenge those issues.
I pivoted. I decided to become a public official who builds an effective policy support structure for scientists and engineers. I took a senior examination for administrative services and chose the Ministry of Science & ICT as the place to start after passing the exam.

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Military Service (2013-2015)

Destiny is not something inevitable;
it is destiny to choose to face what could be avoided.

Quoted from ‘To You’ by Chi-hwan Yu

I served in In-je and Yang-gu, where the Battle of Bloody Ridge occurred during the Korean War. I served as a gunner of a missile armored vehicle and a squad leader. 
The military service totally changed my life. As I already had worked as a deputy director since 2012, I did not have to serve as a general soldier (All public officers who pass the Senior Executive Examination for Administrative Service in Korea can do their military service as an army/navy/air-force officer). However, with a belief to do everything as same as the people I serve, which I learned from my parents and grandparents, I decided to serve as a rank without reporting my position in the Korean government (if I disclosed, I might be deployed in an HQ near big cities). Fortunately (?), as I wished, I was deployed at the northeast front line.
I did my best during military service; my squad was selected as a top team of my battalion, and I was selected as a distinguished warrior (only around 10% passed the test) for a year. It was one of my life’s happiest (admittedly arduous) moments.
Thanks to this period, I could know how general Korean citizens sacrificed themselves to secure their families and country. I also came to know many younger brothers who served together, fighting against the coldest weather in Korea. Those experiences motivated me to dedicate myself more to serving public goods and be interested in policy programs directly related to economic outcomes. Moreover, I came to pursue excellence in my work, which motivated me to ‘study’ public policy. 
Without this period, I would have never known those precious lessons, and I would have never had the chance to take charge of entrepreneurship policy. After confronting what I could have avoided, I now walk along with the DESTINY of studying entrepreneurship. I am always so grateful to myself in the past for making such a bold decision, to my parents and Dr. Minsu Joh for supporting and advising my decision, and to all my comrades for always being together to overcome lots of hardships.

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Creative Economy Planning Bureau: in Charge of Korea’s entrepreneurship support policy programs (2015-2017)

As I briefly mentioned above, I moved to the Creative Economy Planning Bureau, which dealt with entrepreneurship policy in Korea, despite the fact that the bureau was notorious for its heavy workload. 
I took charge of multiple entrepreneurship promotion policy programs and experienced the evolution of entrepreneurial ecosystems in Korea. I also could observe the behavior of entrepreneurs, and the establishment of private startup intermediaries (e.g., accelerators), which become the core topic of my dissertation. Despite the tremendous intensity of work (i.e., I worked over 2,000 hours overtime a year), it was really rewarding to see how my efforts were successfully delivered to startups and job seekers. I also devised a new program that connects startups and workers via private intermediaries, and finally linked more than 7,000 cases per year; I received the Industry Development Prize for this effort. 
Experiencing the powerful performances of those private intermediaries in developing startup ecosystems, I developed my academic interest in organizational and ecosystem conditions and contexts that promote the emergence of great business ideas. I would like to acknowledge that my unrefined curiosity about those contexts and conditions could be developed into research interests under the excellent and insightful guidance of Directors Changyong Ahn and Hongtae Jang, as well as Dr. Chansoo Park.

PS. I thank all 85 members of 17 CCEIs in Korea who worked together to connect job seekers to firms. I will always remember every moment we worked together.

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Secretary to the Minister of Science & ICT (2017-2019)

After two years, I became a secretary to a new Minister of Science and ICT, His Excellency Young Min You. He chose me as an accompanying secretary and gave me several lessons on innovation policy. I could learn a lot from his insightful decision-making, and he sometimes gave me precious advice on developing my research interest. Thankfully, he officiated at my marriage as well. My wife and I will never forget his meaningful comments on us (The third picture was taken when he invited my wife to the office). He encouraged me to apply to overseas studies, and finally, I came to start my Ph.D study. 
It is one of my greatest pride that I assisted the Minister who made South Korea the first country to commercialize 5G technology. Time from the Minister’s 5G commercialization master-plan announcement in Feb. 2018 (at MWC) to the actual commercialization in Apr. 2019 would be one of the most exciting (and thrilling) moments throughout my career as a policy practitioner.

PS.  Your Excellency, Minister Young Min You: I will never forget the invaluable lessons and wisdom, as well as the great opportunity to study entrepreneurship.

PPS. Minister Young Min You served as the Chief Presidential Secretary from 2020 to 2022.