From Urgency to Legacy: CEO Sungsoo Kim Builds Global Top 10 HR Consulting Firm in 25 Years
- Ji Min Yoo
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Original Publication by Yonhap Infomax, June 4, 2025
Translated into English by HRCap, June 4, 2025
“I couldn’t sleep at all. There were many nights I slept less than two hours. Life often felt hopeless. The desperation and anxiety kept repeating, and I constantly felt warning signs from both my body and mind. But I never lost faith or hope. Most of all, I’m deeply grateful to my wife, who endured the journey with me and always supported me by my side.”
The man who smiles sheepishly while sharing this 25-year-old memory is Sungsoo Kim, Founder and CEO of HRCap, which now celebrates its 25th anniversary this June.
Today, Kim is a renowned figure leading one of the Top 10 Executive Search Firms in the Asia-Pacific region, but his journey was anything but easy.
We sat down with him on May 28 at HRCap’s headquarters in Ridgefield, New Jersey, to hear his remarkable story.
From Corporate HR Leader to Brave Entrepreneur
Born in 1960, Kim earned a master’s degree in Education Administration from Seoul National University and began his career in 1987 as an HR professional at LG Electronics (then GoldStar).
He left LG after 14 years as Head of HR for the Americas and decided to strike out on his own. Despite his boldness, the results were initially grim. Although he tried to leverage his experience to connect talent, the U.S. job market was in crisis due to the dot-com crash.
Mass layoffs dominated headlines—"Over 500,000 Jobs Cut in Four Months”—and even Ivy League graduates struggled to find work. Kim had no savings, and with two young children and a wife to support, the financial strain was suffocating.
“I remember I couldn’t sleep at all,” Kim recalls. “My shoulders were so tense that I used cupping therapy, and dark blood came out.”
Perseverance and Trust from Korean Corporations
After about three years of hardship, hope began to emerge. Korean conglomerates like Samsung, LG, SK, and POSCO were expanding operations in the U.S., and HRCap became one of the few firms that could support them with localized talent solutions.
Kim’s carefully built talent pool allowed HRCap to deliver the right candidates at the right time. HRCap's value wasn’t just in filling vacancies—it offered strategic solutions. When a company entered a new business sector, HRCap would recommend top candidates and even design the team structure.
“I recently had dinner with a U.S. office head of a Korean conglomerate,” said Kim. “They awarded 10- and 20-year tenure awards to four employees—and all four were placed by HRCap. He thanked me sincerely.”
Today, HRCap boasts a 95% success rate in executive placements and a 72% client return rate.
Since 2022, Manage HR Magazine has ranked HRCap as one of the Top 10 Executive Search Firms four years in a row. In 2023, the firm also received recognition as a Top 10 APAC Executive Search Firm, Top 10 APAC HR Consulting Firm, and one of the Top 5 Korean Executive Search Firms.
Over 12 million candidate profiles are in HRCap’s database, including 325,000 bilingual (Korean-English) professionals. After reviewing over 50 million resumes and conducting 10 million candidate meetings, HRCap has successfully placed more than 20,000 professionals globally—70% of client companies are Korean HQ-based, and 30% are non-Korean, highlighting the firm’s globalization.
“Hiring isn’t just about immediate needs,” Kim notes. “We focus on long-term performance that aligns with future organizational goals.”
A New Growth Engine: His Daughter Stella
Kim’s daughter, Stella H. Kim (Chief Marketing Officer and SVP, Head of Americas) joined HRCap as after earning her degree in Economics from Princeton University and building a successful career at McKinsey and IBM. Even while working at top-tier firms, she was recognized by many global big tech and consulting companies as a next-generation leader.
But Stella sensed a new strategic direction was needed for HRCap. Confident she could bring fresh value, she joined in 2016 with a 5-year growth plan in hand.
She began with a full organizational diagnostic, suggesting new perspectives on structure and culture. Believing that Korean companies needed to invest more in executive hiring to succeed globally, she established a dedicated Executive Search Division.
Stella emphasizes that today’s executive search must go beyond "culture fit" to find leaders who offer "culture add"—those who can accelerate transformation and growth.
To achieve this, she launched a Digital Transformation (DX) Team that is now developing an AI-based matching algorithm quantifying candidate behavior, role alignment, and cultural adaptability. She also built a proprietary Leadership Assessment Platform, developed over three years through consultations with over 100 experts in psychology and IT, including professors at Columbia University. A pilot is currently underway and expected to roll out by year-end.
“The two most important qualities are self-awareness and learning agility,” Stella explains. “Today’s leaders must be empathetic and adaptable—what matters isn’t what they know, but how fast they learn.”
She adds, “We also consider each company’s unique DNA—some value risk-taking, others prioritize stability. Our platform is designed to recommend talent aligned with each culture, maximizing both performance and retention.”
What’s Next for HRCap?
Asked about the next 5, 10, 15 years, Kim laid out his goals:
Become a globally trusted brand
Provide thought leadership in the industry
Lead in DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion)
Serve as a partner for social impact and next-generation growth
On point #4, Kim elaborated on three key initiatives:
STAR Academy: A scholarship program that identifies and develops next-generation leaders.
Interim Solutions: A service that matches retired professionals with deep expertise to companies facing leadership gaps or transitions.
MAGNET ICON Project: A program to identify and partner with Korean and Asian leaders who embody Legacy (impact that transcends generations), Magnetism (influence that draws people and ideas), and Connection (bridging across cultures, industries, and generations).
These initiatives reflect Stella’s belief that HRCap must invest in CSR and societal value creation beyond profit.
“People are our assets, and connection is the foundation of sustained growth,” Kim said. “That founding philosophy now expands to our three core values—Legacy, Magnetism, and Connection.”
He concluded, “In the next chapter, we aim to evolve into a global HR strategy platform and define the new gold standard for the Global K-HR Movement as an All-in-One Total HR Solutions Partner—essentially, HRCap 2.0.”
Final Words for the Next Generation
As a successful Korean American entrepreneur, Kim offered advice to the next generation:
“The U.S. market is undoubtedly challenging, but if you approach it with sincerity and a long-term vision, doors of opportunity will open.”
He added, “Respect for local culture and systems is the foundation of sustainable growth. People-centered leadership will always outlast performance-centered leadership.”
From an HR perspective, Kim emphasized that “In performance-driven societies, it’s the sincerity toward people that determines resilience and longevity.”
He concluded, “Designing systems that foster empathy and synergy across diverse talent is critical. Data matters, but ultimately, relationships and philosophy are what complete leadership and brand value.”
His core values and words of wisdom remain:
Value people and connections as true assets
Build relationships based on trust and principle
Prioritize sustainable partnerships and organizational growth over short-term results
By Jinwoo Choi, Yonhap Infomax