Press Release June 08th, 2023

Korean “Movie Intern” Story: Former SBA President Jang Young-seung Joins Epikar as CSO​

Jang Young-seung, former president of the Seoul Business Agency (SBA, now known as Seoul Business Agency), who famously transformed from a public enterprise CEO into a startup intern and became the real-life inspiration for Korea’s version of the movie The Intern, has now stepped into a new role as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at a startup.​ ​

​ Epikar, a company aiming to digitally transform the car sales and distribution process, announced on the 8th that it has appointed Jang as its new CSO. In this role, he will be responsible for the company’s global expansion and future mobility strategy.​ ​​

Jang is considered a first-generation venture entrepreneur in Korea, having founded Nanum Technology in 1990 and made a significant impact on the domestic software industry. He later served as CEO of Doremi Records and Candle Media, before becoming president of SBA in 2019. While at SBA, he launched numerous initiatives, including the globally-minded brand "Seoul Made," which showcased products, spaces, and content geared toward value-driven consumption by the MZ generation.​ ​

What followed his departure from SBA was even more unique. Jang went on a months-long bicycle trip before joining three startups as an intern over the course of two years—mirroring the story of Robert De Niro’s character in The Intern. He performed various hands-on tasks, including cleaning, building maintenance, and proposal writing, while mentoring younger entrepreneurs.​ ​

​ Jang said, “After resigning from SBA, I posted on Facebook that I wanted to be a startup intern like in the movie The Intern. Several companies reached out, and I was lucky to be accepted as an intern after two to three rounds of interviews at a company where I felt I could make a meaningful contribution to young founders.”​ ​

​ Han Bosuk, CEO of Epikar, commented, “After a long and persistent effort, we’ve finally brought in one of the true gurus of the software industry. With CSO Jang’s experience and expertise, we aim to become a key player in the future mobility sector.”​ ​

​ Jang added, “We plan to expand Epikar’s current B2B (business-to-business) software model into B2C (business-to-consumer) and B2BC (business-to-business-to-consumer) models. Our goal is to lead Epikar’s growth so that it can go public within three years, while entering markets in the U.S. and Asia.”​ ​​

Epikar provides digital solutions based on data, particularly in areas of car sales that still require a dealer’s involvement, such as test drives and after-sales service. Despite advancements in ICT, most car sales processes remain offline and in-person. Epikar’s solutions aim to digitize portions of these workflows, enabling cost savings and increased operational efficiency for automakers and dealerships. Among its clients are BMW Korea and seven of its official dealer networks.​