Former SBA President Jang Young-seung, Known as Korea’s “Intern” Story Figure, Joins EPIKAR as CSO

Jang Young-seung, former president of the Seoul Business Agency (SBA, now the Seoul Business Foundation), who drew public attention after transforming from the head of a public institution into a startup intern earning the nickname the Korean version of the movie The Intern has now taken on a new role as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at a startup.

EPIKAR, a company driving digital innovation across the automotive sales and distribution process, announced on the 8th that it has appointed former SBA president Jang Young-seung as its CSO. In his new role, Jang will oversee EPIKAR’s global expansion and future mobility business strategy.

Jang is a first-generation Korean venture entrepreneur who left a significant mark on the domestic software industry after founding Nanum Technology in 1990. He later served as CEO of Doremi Records and Candle Media, before being appointed president of SBA in 2019. During his tenure, he delivered notable results through numerous initiatives, including the global brand “Seoul Made,” which supported the overseas expansion of Korean small and medium-sized enterprises.

Seoul Made targeted global MZ consumers who value meaningful consumption, introducing a wide range of content spanning products, spaces, and culture.

His career path after leaving SBA also drew attention. After spending several months on a bicycle journey, Jang joined startups as an intern, capturing public interest. Like Robert De Niro’s character in the film The Intern, he worked as an intern at three startups over two years. During this time, he took on hands-on responsibilities including cleaning, building management, and proposal writing while also serving as a mentor to young founders.

Jang explained:

“After stepping down from SBA, I posted on Facebook that I wanted to work as a startup intern like in the movie The Intern. I received messages from many companies. I applied to organizations where I felt I could genuinely support younger entrepreneurs, went through two to three rounds of interviews, and was fortunate to be hired as an intern.”

Han Bosuk, CEO of EPIKAR, said:

“After repeated efforts, we were finally able to bring on board one of the gurus of the Korean software industry. With CSO Jang’s experience and expertise, EPIKAR aims to grow into a company that plays a pivotal role in the future mobility market.”

Jang shared his vision as well:

“We plan to expand EPIKAR’s software business model beyond its current B2B focus into B2C and B2BC models. By entering overseas markets such as the United States and Asia, I hope to help EPIKAR grow rapidly enough to pursue an IPO within the next three years.”

Meanwhile, EPIKAR provides data-driven digital solutions (DMS: Dealer Management Solution) across critical stages of the automotive sales process, including test drives and after-sales service (A/S). Despite advances in information and communication technology (ICT), most automotive sales operations remain face-to-face. EPIKAR’s solutions digitize key portions of this process, helping automakers and dealership networks reduce operating costs and enhance competitiveness.

Representative clients using EPIKAR’s platform include BMW Korea and seven authorized BMW dealer groups.