HR is the Engine of Competitiveness — Success in the U.S. Demands Strategic HR Planning

>> 김성수 대표 "사람이 경쟁력…美 진출시 인사전략부터 짜야 성공하죠"<<

Original Publication by The Korea Economic Daily, June 4, 2025

Translated into English by HRCap, June 4, 2025

CEO Andrew Sungsoo Kim at HRCap in interview with Hankyung Newspaper

"Recently, a President of a Korean conglomerate’s U.S. branch office hosted a ceremony to honor long-serving employees. I felt immense pride when he shared that all four had been placed through HRCap and have served for over a decade."

That moment of validation came from Andrew Sungsoo Kim, Founder, CEO & President of HRCap, the largest Asian American Global Executive Search & HR Consulting firm in the United States. A former HR leader at LG Group’s U.S. operations, CEO Kim established HRCap in New Jersey in 2000. The company now celebrates its 25th anniversary on June 7, marking a legacy of growth and global influence.

What began as a niche recruiting agency has grown into a multinational HR consulting powerhouse serving over 1,500 clients, including the North American branches of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, and LG Electronics, as well as Japanese, Chinese, and American companies like Amazon and Google. With expanded operations including an Asia headquarters in Korea and a new office in Europe, HRCap is now recognized as one of the Top 10 executive search firms in the U.S. by placement volume and prestige.

HRCap facilitates between 300 to 500 hires annually, with over 100 senior-level placements at the director level and above—including C-Suite roles. These high-impact engagements typically involve compensation packages ranging from $500,000 to several million dollars.

One of HRCap’s recent milestones involved appointing a non-Korean CEO for a U.S. subsidiary of a Korean conglomerate—the first time a foreign national with deep local expertise was chosen over a Korean expatriate. In another strategic case, HRCap spent 18 months sourcing leadership talent for a Korean electronics group that had acquired a U.S. luxury appliance company, ultimately placing both a CEO and Head of HR to lead the integration.

But Kim’s journey has not been without adversity. During the 2008 global financial crisis, the U.S. job market came to a standstill, threatening HRCap’s survival. Instead of downsizing, Kim invested in digital infrastructure, implementing ERP and CRM systems. Today, HRCap boasts a proprietary database of 12 million job seekers, including over 320,000 bilingual professionals fluent in both English and Korean—a competitive edge in cross-border talent management.

In recent years, Korean investment in the U.S. has surged—particularly since the Trump administration emphasized reshoring U.S. manufacturing. Regions like Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina now host a dense concentration of Korean factories, but severe talent shortages persist across production, engineering, and management functions.

“Many companies have finished constructing manufacturing plants, but remain idle because they simply cannot hire enough talent,” Kim noted. “HR planning must begin before the first shovel hits the ground.”

Kim also warned of growing legal exposure. “As Korean investment expands into global markets, so do the lawsuits. In a diverse society like the U.S., noncompliant hiring or onboarding practices can easily trigger discrimination claims—especially when expatriates unknowingly ask questions about age, family, or nationality during interviews.”

To succeed in the U.S., Kim said, Korean organizations must go beyond language and cultural comfort zones. “Too often, talented candidates are dismissed simply because they don’t speak Korean or unfamiliar with the Korean work culture. That mindset prevents organizations from fully leveraging their talent and truly transforming for growth.”

Yet Kim sees growing opportunity in Korean American synergy. “More and more Americans are building greater appreciation for the Korean culture. Korean companies need to evolve from being ‘Korean companies in America’ to truly becoming ‘Korean American companies in America.’ That’s where we come in—we design, coach, and drive that evolution.”

By Hyunsuk Kim, The Korea Economic Daily