Chung-Ang University partnership with the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce connects businesses across South Korea, the United States and Israel
A university alumni association may not immediately sound like a force in international commerce.
But Chung-Ang University’s alumni network includes South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Korea Development Bank Chairman and CEO Park Sang-jin, Hyundai Hospital President Boo-Seop Kim and corporate leaders across banking, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, healthcare, manufacturing and technology.
Now that network is establishing a new channel into the American business community through an agreement with the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce.
The partnership could give businesses access to something that is often difficult and expensive to obtain: trusted introductions to executives, investors, government relationships and potential commercial partners in South Korea, the United States and Israel.
The memorandum of understanding was signed Aug. 7 during the Korea-U.S. Economic and Trade Cooperation MOU Signing Ceremony at the DoubleTree by Hilton Fort Lee–George Washington Bridge in New Jersey.
The agreement creates a framework for trade, investment, entrepreneurship, innovation, professional exchange and assistance for companies seeking to enter new markets.
For a Korean manufacturer, that could mean help identifying an American distributor, investor, lender or professional adviser. For an American business, it could provide a path to Korean customers, suppliers, executives or strategic partners that would otherwise be difficult to reach.
The Orthodox Jewish Chamber’s relationships in Israel add another market to the partnership, creating potential connections in technology, healthcare, finance, infrastructure, manufacturing and innovation.
Chung-Ang University is one of South Korea’s prominent private universities, with programs spanning business, law, medicine, pharmacy, engineering, technology and the arts. Its alumni association has cited a global network of approximately 280,000 graduates.
The university previously reported that 40 Chung-Ang alumni were serving as CEOs among Korea’s 1,000 largest publicly listed companies by sales.
Its prominent alumni include Lee, who graduated from Chung-Ang’s College of Law, and Park, the first Korea Development Bank chairman to rise from within the government-owned lender’s own ranks.
The business community also includes semiconductor entrepreneur and GEO Element Chairman Shin Hyun-kook and the late Auh June-sun, who led Ahngook Pharmaceutical and previously served as president of the Korea Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association.
Chung-Ang’s global cultural reach includes Emmy Award-winning “Squid Game” actor Lee Jung-jae, actor Hyun Bin and actress Park Shin-hye.
That combination of government, corporate and cultural influence is what makes the agreement potentially valuable beyond the signing ceremony itself.
“Commerce is one of the most powerful ways to build lasting bridges between countries, CEOs and community leadership,” said Duvi Honig, founder and CEO of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce. “This partnership gives our members a platform to reach business leaders and opportunities that they would not ordinarily be able to access on their own.”
Honig said the Chamber’s role is to connect networks and then help turn those relationships into practical opportunities.
“The value we bring to our members is broader reach and trusted access,” Honig said. “We bring countries, companies, CEOs and leadership together and use commerce as the bridge. That is what ‘Uniting the World Via Commerce’ means in practice—giving businesses an opportunity to reach markets and decision-makers that may otherwise remain beyond their reach.”
“This agreement turns our shared relationships into a working platform for business,” said James Sungjin Kim, Korea Affairs Chair of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce. “By connecting Chung-Ang University’s influential alumni network with the Chamber’s members and international relationships, we can help companies identify partners, enter new markets and develop opportunities across South Korea, the United States and Israel.”
The agreement could be especially useful to small and midsized companies.
Large corporations can hire consultants, investment bankers and international development teams to enter foreign markets. Smaller businesses often have strong products and services but lack the relationships needed to identify a reliable distributor, approach a major customer or navigate an unfamiliar country.
A chamber-backed network can reduce that disadvantage by offering a credible starting point and access to organizations already operating in those markets.
An American healthcare company, for example, could use the relationship to seek introductions to Korean hospital or pharmaceutical leaders. A Korean technology company could look for an American distributor or Israeli innovation partner. A Chamber member providing legal, accounting, banking, insurance, logistics or commercial real-estate services could assist Korean companies establishing U.S. operations.
The agreement was signed during a U.S. visit by senior Chung-Ang alumni leaders.
Boo-Seop Kim, president of the Chung-Ang University Alumni Association and president of Hyundai Hospital, and Wonchul Choi, president of the North America Chung-Ang University Alumni Association, represented the Korean alumni organizations.
Honig participated live by Zoom. James Sungjin Kim, Korea affairs chair of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, attended in person and signed on the Chamber’s behalf.
Chung-Ang’s alumni leadership signed two additional agreements during the program, one with the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce and another with the Korean American Chamber of Commerce of the Northeast.
Mark Jaffe, president and CEO of the Greater New York Chamber, participated remotely. On-site participants included James Sungjin Kim and Amit Shah, co-chairs of international affairs for the Greater New York Chamber, and Kwang Suk Kim, chairman of the Korean American Chamber of Commerce of the Northeast.
The program also included a discussion of Empire State Development and potential future cooperation between Korean businesses and New York State.
The agreements do not guarantee that investments, contracts or jobs will follow. Their value will depend on whether the participating organizations identify companies ready to expand, organize targeted delegations and convert introductions into business.
The foundation, however, is now in place.
For an individual business owner, the most important result may be finding one international partner, reaching one decision-maker or entering one market that was previously inaccessible.
That is the tangible value behind the new network: trusted relationships and broader reach that many businesses could not build alone.
Disclosure: Duvi Honig is the publisher of JBizNews and the founder and CEO of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, one of the organizations participating in the agreement.
JBizNews Desk | Fort Lee, New Jersey
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