Yung Kim (김일영)

Former President and CEO of DASAN Zhone Solutions

Former President and Group Chief Strategy Officer of Korea Telecom

Former Vice President of BT Group (British Telecom), CTO Office

Yung worked as a telecommunications industry executive in the US, Korea, Japan and the UK and spearheaded many transformational and strategic business remodeling and acquisitions. He is a passionate believer and practitioner of business transformation with beyond-telecom industry experience of working and living globally.

He was President and CEO of DASAN Zhone Solutions (Nasdaq: DZSI) from 2016 until his retirement in 2020, bringing a wealth of experience from a 40-year long career in telecommunications. During his time at the helm of this California-based technology firm, DZS became a top five next-generation broadband and 5G access vendor after a critical period of mergers and acquisitions that Yung spearheaded.

Prior to his time in California, Yung was President and an executive board member of KT (Korea Telecom). His vision was to transform KT into an innovative and dynamic ICT company, taking KT Group’s revenue from U$11bn in 2009 to $24bn in 2013.

He joined KT in July 2009 from British Telecom (BT), where he had worked for almost 30 years and held a number of senior positions both in the UK and Japan. During his time in Asia, Yung was responsible for finding and introducing innovative telecom products from Japan and Korea to the UK and served as a senior member of BT AsiaPac’s management team. In his earlier years at the firm, he served as Head of Technology and Investment in BT Japan and was a key member of BT’s $2bn investment into J-Phone (known as Softbank Mobile today).

Yung is a graduate of the University College London, (University of London) with a BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and a MSc in Microwave Engineering and Modern Optics. He completed his high school education in Korea before moving to the UK in 1975.