[Management] Alumna KookYoung Kim, Vice President of Moody’s Investors Service Korea
- Date2022.03.03
- 5481
Alumna KookYoung Kim, Vice President of Moody’s Investors Service Korea
According to a recently-published survey on women executives at the top 100 Korean firms in 2021, Ewha Womans University has produced 31 female executives, thereby maintaining its record as the university that has produced the largest number of female executives at Korean companies for four consecutive years. Today’s Ewha DNA interview shares the story of alumna KookYoung Kim (Business Administration, graduating class of 2001), Vice President of Moody’s Investors Service (Korea) Inc, the U.S. based global credit rating agency, as well as information about careers in global financial firms.
Q. Hello, please briefly introduce yourself.
I am KookYoung Kim from the incoming class of 1996 for the Department of Business Administration. I am part of the Commercial Group at Moody’s Investors Service Korea Inc.
Q. As a member of Commercial Group at Moody’s Investors Service, you are a Relationship Manager covering Korea and Mongolia. What are the roles of RM?
Our team is responsible for managing issuer relations with more than 100 Korean and Mongolian companies rated by Moody's and overall strategic planning.
Our main role is to conduct business development by identifying global finance trends and establishing medium-to-long-term strategies, and to introduce various credit rating services and products offered by Moody’s to participants in global debt capital market. In addition, our team is also responsible for promoting environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) in the Asia-Pacific region and connecting various ESG service offerings of Moody's to our prospective customers in Asia to help them better manage ESG risks.
Q. Could you tell us about the corporate culture at Moody’s?
Integrity: As one of three biggest credit-rating agencies in the world, Moody’s is a Fortune 500 company that has stood as a world-renowned leader of credit ratings, research, and risk analysis since its establishment more than 100 years ago. Moody’s commitment and expertise has contributed to transparent and integrated financial markets, and our principles of honesty and integrity extend to all aspects of our business.
Work-life Balance: The “work-life balance” is another advantage of the corporate culture at Moody’s, one that I viewed as the most important in the early days of my career. Items regarding work-life balance are always ranked high in many employee satisfaction surveys conducted by global companies. That might be because the challenge of balancing work and family life can be tricky for almost everyone in the world, including myself as I had to juggle advancing career growth with my parental responsibilities.
Diversity & Inclusion: Moody's is firmly committed to providing a supportive workplace where all employees from different backgrounds and countries can thrive as their authentic selves. Senior management encourages all employees to demonstrate support for equal rights for women, religious and ethnic minorities, and the LGBTQ community. Moody’s embrace diversity as a strength and see inclusion as one of the greatest assets as the company believes valuing diversity and inclusion is an anchor of our culture and a source of strength for the company.
Q. I imagine it wasn’t easy to become a professional in a field over a long period of time. Could you share your memories about some difficult or proud moments in that process?
We constantly face changes and challenges in our busy working life. As work and personal life often times get mingled with each other in reality, we should be willing to welcome obstacles and embrace challenges along the way.
When it comes to my work, I am a passionate and dedicated person, and because I enjoy working at Moody’s where you are surrounded by many great professionals, I tend to drive myself until the best outcome is delivered.
One of the most gratifying moments for me was when my team won deals that everyone else thought would be impossible to get and Korea was highlighted as "Asia's First" after being overshadowed by China for a long time.
Q. What abilities do you think are required to work for a global company or a credit rating agency?
First, many of the global talent that I’ve met speak English in a coherent manner that conveys the key point, rather than speaking English fluently in the technical sense as if it was their first language. It is essential to have the communication skills to convey precisely what you want to say by summarizing it briefly and clearly.
Second, I hope that you will venture out into society armed with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to perform the work for the field that you want to enter. Companies, particularly global firms such as Moody’s, prefer people with relevant experiences and do not kindly teach new employees how to perform their duties from A-Z.
Third, try to broaden your horizons through a wide range of experiences when you are a student. In the global business world, it is necessary to understand diverse cultures and ethnicities, beyond the strict confines of nationality. Be open minded and keep remind yourselves that there are no “wrong ways” but only “different ways”.
Fourth, building trust in your own organization is very important even if you don’t like your current job. These days, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, we can do business anywhere with anyone in the world through zoom and I feel that we’ve never been so closely intertwined with one another, globally. Manage your own track record and business reputation as these are one of the key considerations when it comes to hiring. The world is smaller than you think.
Q. What are some future goals you want to achieve?
I think I’ve been able to work at Moody’s for such a long time because I have been able to take initiative on various projects that I felt passionate and excited about in line with rapidly changing global financial markets, and was blessed with a great corporate culture and teamwork that supported and encouraged them.
I would like to expand the scope of my work through various new endeavors so that I can keep growing my passion. In addition, as a country lead of WBRG(Women’s Business Resource Group) at Moody’s Korea, I have engaged in many activities for the equal rights and career development of female employees over the past 7 years, but there are still many areas that are regrettably lacking in practice. In the future, I would like to actively participate and introduce more useful programs to help nurture female employees at the firm.