SPC/IPC Judges

Kwangrog Kim
Managing Partner, Sazze Partners

Kwangrog is a co-founder and managing partner at Primer Sazze Partners. Since 2018, Primer Sazze Partners has been dedicated to investing in exceptional Korean founders, with the mission of supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs in South Korea and globally. Before this, Kwangrog co-founded Sazze Partners in 2014, focusing on transformative consumer tech companies. In 2005, he co-founded Sazze, Inc., a holding company for fast-growing e-commerce startups.

Se-Hwang Kim, Mus.D.

General Director of Entertainment at Hanchang  Corporation 

SeHwang Kim, Mus.D. is a world-renowned guitarist and artist to be inducted into the RockWalk of Fame in Hollywood. With over 25 years of experience in the global music, entertainment, startup and tech industries, he served as as managing partner and judge for investments at various organizations and as a judge for 2025 CES Innovation Awards. He is currently the General Director of Entertainment at Hanchang Corporation leading the expansion of global business in entertainment and technology including the recent acquisition of K-Pop label, Beat Interactive (artists: FORESTELLA, NEWBEAT). He is also a lecturer and performer at NASA-JPL and UCLA.

Peter Bae

CEO, Korean Innovation Center @ Silicon Valley.

Peter Bae is the CEO for the Korean Innovation Center @ Silicon Valley. KIC Silicon Valley supports startups launching their products and services in North America through acceleration programs, industry expertise and capital networks. Peter is himself a four-time founder of startups notably Social Radio Company, Alcacruz, Fantage and Anoxis, and a prolific advisor and investor to more than a two dozen of Korean startups.

Charli Kim
Principal, KDB Silicon Valley

Charlie Kim is a Principal at KDB Silicon Valley, where he partners with bold founders building technologies that transform global industries. His investment focus spans AI, robotics, and biotechnology, with a keen interest in early-stage companies tackling foundational problems with long-term vision. Before joining KDB, Charlie was at Deloitte, advising large-cap technology companies on cross-border strategy and transfer pricing. With a background in Economics and Mathematics from Emory University, and global experience across Korea and the U.S., Charlie brings both analytical depth and cultural fluency to every partnership.

Siyeon Rhee
Instructor, Stanford University, Co-founder & Representative Committee Member, K-bioX
Siyeon is an instructor at Stanford University and a co-founder and representative committee member of K-BioX, one of the largest global nonprofit communities connecting life scientists, clinicians, and biotech entrepreneurs across the U.S. and Korea. At Stanford, he leads research in developmental and cardiovascular biology, specializing in advanced single-cell and spatial transcriptomic technologies. Through K-BioX, he has organized numerous international summits, mentorship programs, and startup accelerators to empower early-career scientists and foster biomedical innovation. Siyeon actively serves as a judge, advisor, and bridge-builder between academia and industry in the life sciences ecosystem.