[Power K-Women] You Must Overcome Immediate Limits to Open the Next Chapter

CEO Jeong Ji-eun of Codit, Experienced at Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, UNESCO, and OECD
Joined OECD as 2nd Korean Public Official... Felt Gap Between Policy and Reality
Despite Job Security, Moved to Startup Front... Providing Data on Bills, Laws, and Policies to Companies

Editor's NoteAsia Economy has selected women active in various fields both domestically and internationally as 'Power K-Women' and plans to announce them at the ‘2023 Women Leaders Forum’ to be held on October 24th at the Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul. These women leaders have broken or transcended barriers such as gender, race, disability, and poverty to create new and universal values. Their stories will provide comfort to a weary world, serve as role models for others, and empower communities to move forward. We introduce candidates for Power K-Women who have stood up and fought without shrinking from discrimination or being trapped by boundaries.

"You just have to try it first. If it doesn’t work, you find another way."

Jieun Jeong, CEO of CODIT, who has worked at prestigious international organizations such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, UNESCO, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), explained the driving force behind her continuous challenges in this way. Although Jeong spoke casually, the path she has walked so far is by no means simple. She entered the OECD, where top talents from around the world gather, as the 'second Korean public recruit ever.' After leaving a tenured position after eight years, she returned to Korea and started a startup. Choosing a thorny path rather than a smooth one and taking on new challenges was possible because she had skills based on effort.

"No one memorized everything like I did"

Jeong dreamed of studying abroad in the UK during her school years and working in a public institution. After entering university and choosing 'Political Economy' as her major, she deeply immersed herself in policy research. During this time, she developed an interest in international organizations through an internship at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she organized international events. The UNESCO internship program she started while pursuing her master's degree at the Graduate School of Public Administration became her starting point. Using the three-month internship experience as a stepping stone, Jeong challenged the OECD public recruitment exam.

Out of 400 applicants, only 12 were selected, with one per division. Most applicants held PhDs in economics, and there were not many people in their twenties, making it a tough situation. At the time, Jeong was in her mid-twenties with a master's degree and was initially skeptical of herself, wondering, "Can I really do this?" "Six candidates reached the final stage, and among them was someone lecturing as an assistant professor at Oxford University. I felt my experience was insignificant." After several months of screening, Jeong became the second Korean public recruit to join the OECD since 1999.

Appearance while participating in an event during tenure at OECD. [Photo by Codit]

But that was not the end. At the OECD, one must compete with external candidates through promotion exams every two years to maintain their position. It is a structure where you must continuously maintain competitiveness to do the work you want. After enduring for five years and passing the tenure review, Jeong obtained tenure at the OECD. She said every moment at the OECD was a continuous test. "I think I had many disadvantages. A young Asian. At first, they didn’t treat me as a person. But when I gave keynote speeches in front of them, they started to see that 'this person has something' and looked at me differently."

Her secret to surviving in a male- and Western-centric international organization was relentless effort. Jeong said many government departments and international organization people come unprepared. She stood out because she memorized and mastered over 500 pages of presentation content before delivering it. "I often thought I absolutely didn’t need to be intimidated. Others see my face, but I don’t see my own face. Whether I’m Asian or a woman, since others are the ones looking, I focused only on whether they were really listening to my story and whether my message was being conveyed well."

From the 'Golden Cage' to the 'Field'

Participating in Europe's largest startup event, 'Viva Technology 2023'. [Photo by Codit]

However, Jeong gave up the hard-earned tenure at the OECD without hesitation and left after eight years. This decision was not easy for her either. But the international organization was like a 'golden cage' for her. Although important policies were decided there, it was difficult to actually look into the stories from the field. "Inside, they talk as if something important is happening, but when you actually look closely, each policy cannot be discussed without knowing the reality of the country. I felt a big gap with reality."

The desire to be grounded in the field led her to entrepreneurship. Jeong immediately returned to Korea and founded a startup called 'CODIT.' Established in 2020, CODIT is a company that organizes data such as bills, laws, and policies using artificial intelligence (AI) and big data technologies and provides it to companies and public institutions. Having worked in various international organizations, she felt regret that Korea lacked an 'archiving service' that analyzes and provides policy data. The purpose is to provide information that helps understand what is discussed on social media and in National Assembly minutes and how current policies connect with companies.

Starting a business was like starting from scratch again. Unlike international organizations dealing with national representatives, startups must directly deal with ordinary companies. When CODIT first started, Jeong personally visited target companies to do sales. Even while selling, she was not intimidated. She focused on solving the companies’ problems rather than just selling a service. Thanks to that, she won the hearts of client companies and was able to develop new services.

As a result of knocking on doors without hesitation, CODIT grew rapidly within two years. The company has raised investments worth around 5 billion KRW and filed eight patents in a year and a half. Starting with about 10 clients, it now serves approximately 1,000 companies. CODIT is currently working on expanding to provide overseas policy information beyond Korea.

"The process of challenging itself is already success"

Jieun Jeong, CEO of Codit, is being interviewed on the 8th at Codit's headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Every time she challenged herself, many around her viewed it unfavorably. When she quit her job to start a business, her parents discouraged her, asking why she would leave a good job. However, Jeong expressed regret, saying, "I wish I had done it a little earlier." She meant that if she was going to do it anyway, she wished she had done it sooner and has no regrets. She sees the process of starting and running CODIT itself as 'success,' regardless of the outcome. "I think what you learned, how much you grew, and what kind of person you became with that is more important than how much money you made."

"I believe there is a time in life when you need to pour everything out. Water boils at 100 degrees, but sometimes people think they have done a lot at around 50 degrees. Once you overcome that, the next stage opens up." Jeong conveyed this message to women leaders who are challenging themselves like her. Once dreaming of becoming a policy expert at an international organization, she is now diligently working to cultivate an 'entrepreneurial spirit.'

◆ About CEO Jieun Jeong...
Jeong graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Economy from Royal Holloway, University of London in 2006 and worked as an intern and researcher at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Economic Organization Bureau for seven months. She then completed a Master’s degree in Policy Studies at Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Public Administration in 2009. While in graduate school, she worked for three months at UNESCO through an international organization internship program run by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and then worked as a consultant for two years. Based on this, she passed the OECD public recruitment exam with a competition rate of about 400 to 1 in 2011 and worked there for eight years as a Young Professional. In 2020, she founded the customized legislative and policy platform 'CODIT.'