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Why This Hyundai Scion Became an Impact Investor

The Sylvan Group22.10.31

 

“After earning his MBA from Columbia University, Kyungsun Chung, grandson of late Hyundai group founder Chung Ju-yung, could easily have joined one of South Korea’s largest business groups, just like many of his cousins did. But after looking into climate change, Chung chose to forge his own path as an impact investor.”

 

In late September, Hurricane Ian tore through southwestern Florida, killing more than 100 people and damaging some 18,000 homes. According to estimates by catastrophe modeling company Karen Clark & Co., privately insured losses from Ian would be close to $63 billion. That would make it the costliest storm in Florida’s history.

 

Natural disasters like these are exactly why KyungsunChung, a scion of Hyundai’s founding family, is interested in climate change—which is making hurricanes and other disasters more destructive—and forging his own path as an impact investor.

 

“When I went to business school, that was the first time I got to see a lot of data on climate change,” says Chung, 36, in an interview on the sidelines of the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Singapore, where he spoke on a panel about ESG and sustainability."
 

“Looking into the data really made me worry because, for one thing, my livelihood will be affected. And the second thing is, the first industry that will be wiped out because of climate change is the insurance industry.”

 

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