1. What is your main role?

I am in charge of overseas sales, especially commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses, and export and maintenance of railway vehicles. Commercial vehicles and railway vehicles have slightly different business characteristics. In the case of commercial vehicles, most of the work is providing financial services. In the case of railway vehicles, projects are carried out according to the terms of the project, from business development to financial arrangement by the Korean government.

To be more specific, commercial vehicle-related business mainly supports financial services when selling vehicles of Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation, Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle, and other foreign automakers to local dealerships or at an actual demand price. Recently, collaborations with domestic special vehicle companies have been increasing since the demand for customized vehicles with special facilities and structures installed or changed in trucks has increased.

Railway vehicle projects are mainly B2G projects targeting overseas government agencies such as the Ministry of Transportation and the Railroad Administration, and most of them take several years depending on the source of funds and the scope of the project. In the case of the railway vehicle project, the vehicle specification must be customized to the requirements of the ordering side, so we also support the coordination of opinions between the ordering side and the manufacturer.

2. If there are necessary conditions and competencies to perform the job, what would it be?

I think flexible thinking and foreign language skills are needed. The same goes for every other team, but commercial vehicles, including trains, have a variety of options and the vehicle specifications should be set according to the customer’s needs. Therefore, often the person in charge can face unexpected situations to meet the customer’s expectations. In this kind of situation, I believe problem-solving ability to respond flexibly is necessary to achieve good performance while getting less stress.

Also, since it is an overseas sales position, foreign languages are indispensable competency. It is especially helpful if you can communicate in a third language other than English. Most of the people in charge of ordering parties such as the Ministry of Transportation and the Railroad Administration are public officials usually from countries where English is not spoken, so it’s difficult to communicate with them in English. Therefore, capabilities in certain languages are needed for smoother communication, and it is also helpful to communicate between the ordering side and the manufacturer.

3. What are you proud of about Hyundai Corporation?

Hyundai Corporation is currently pursuing business expansion through investment and new business development beyond simple trade transactions. As there are many opportunities to develop new business, it keeps away mannerisms from you which can come to everyone when someone works for a long time at the same work.

In addition, our company is also paying attention to talent management in a long-term perspective, such as making efforts to train experts in each region by introducing a regional expert system. I also can feel the company’s willingness to invest in business and manpower that can develop in the long term with the vision of a “100-year-old company”. Based on this vision, I think all executives and employees keep growing.

4. What advice would you give to juniors who want to join the company?

I think it’s important to quickly decide what you’re interested in and gain a lot of experience in that field. It is important to study hard in school, but gaining experience of working overseas is more important, especially in areas of your interest. I recommend you accumulate experience from internal and external activities.

If it is difficult to have a chance to gain overseas experience in person, it is also a good way to experience it indirectly through media and books. As the saying goes, “I see as much as I know,” I think experiencing the field you’re interested in will help you join the company and further lead your work career.