Hello, Mr. Seo. Thank you for taking the time today. Could you briefly introduce yourself?

Hello, I’m Jung-hwan Seo, Director at VenturePeople, where I lead executive search in the financial engineering domain.
I specialize in identifying and placing top-tier technical talent across the most in-demand global sectors, including Quant Trading, Digital Assets, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Web3, connecting them with leading companies both in Korea and internationally.

Your focus areas are highly specialized with significant barriers to entry. What led you to concentrate on this space?

The top 1% of core talent in these fields rarely make themselves visible on traditional hiring platforms.
Many of them are medalists from prestigious competitions such as IOI (International Olympiad in Informatics), ICPC (International Collegiate Programming Contest), and IMO (International Mathematical Olympiad), or graduates of elite science high schools who studied advanced mathematics or computer science at institutions like Seoul National University, KAIST and POSTECH.

These individuals operate almost entirely within private networks.

I found it deeply compelling to understand their highly technical language and ecosystem, and to go beyond simply presenting job opportunities — instead working as a partner to design the next chapter of their careers. That’s what led me to specialize in this domain.

What are the recent hiring trends in AI, blockchain, and quant? It seems like the global market is evolving very rapidly.

The most notable trend is the explosive increase in global demand for Korean technical talent.

Korean developers have demonstrated exceptional global competitiveness, for example by achieving one of the highest numbers of ICPC World Finals qualifications in Asia.

In the quant space, we are also seeing structural shifts.
Traditional quant firms such as WorldQuant, Saccade Capital and Optiver historically relied on data advantages. However, the competitive edge is gradually disappearing as data becomes more accessible.

As a result, many global quant firms are evolving toward either High-frequency trading (HFT) strategiesㅡ or Active macro strategies, at the same time, top-tier talent is increasingly moving into Crypto Quant, where new opportunities still exist.

Global blockchain companies are actively recruiting Quant Researchers and Engineers to build and enhance their market-making capabilities.
Companies such as Amber Group and Gate.io (both NASDAQ-listed or globally leading Web3 firms) are also actively preparing for entry into the Korean market and directly recruiting core talent.

Today, hiring top talent has become a fully cross-border competition, rather than just a domestic one.

When identifying and evaluating such high-level talent, what do you consider most important?

Exceptional technical ability is the baseline.

Beyond that, I focus heavily on global mindset and cultural adaptability.

Even if a quant researcher or ML engineer can develop outstanding models or code, their work cannot be commercialized unless they can effectively collaborate with and communicate across global teams.

In the end, those who possess strong English communication skills and flexible collaboration capabilities are the ones who grow into C-level leaders.

What type of talent is most in demand yet hardest to find in today’s market?

The most sought-after candidates are those with strong mathematical and engineering foundations who have hands-on experience building strategies in real DEX algorithmic trading environments, or have directly applied machine learning models in live trading strategies.

As mentioned earlier, these “hidden talents” do not actively present themselves to the market.

That’s why I invest significant time in private networking and long-term relationship building, often through informal conversations such as coffee chats, where we exchange insights about the market.

This trusted network allows me to connect the right talent at the right time — which is my strongest competitive advantage.

Lastly, what would you like to say to hiring managers and company leaders?

As the only NPAworldwide member in Korea, VenturePeople has built a powerful global-standard talent sourcing network.

We do not act as simple intermediaries who just pass along resumes.
Instead, we aim to be a strategic hiring partner — proactively identifying and introducing the most suitable talent based on deep insights into technology trends and global competitor movements.

Our goal is to serve as the most precise and reliable bridge between companies and high-impact technical talent.