Nine interns complete 3-month hands-on program

Direct sales team runs daily tasks, one-on-one feedback for new hires

Participants in SK Rent-a-Car's summer internship program pose for a photo after touring the Cheonan Auto Auction facility, one of the program's signature field experiences, where they observed the live used-car auction process. [SK Rent-a-Car]
Participants in SK Rent-a-Car's summer internship program pose for a photo after touring the Cheonan Auto Auction facility, one of the program's signature field experiences, where they observed the live used-car auction process. [SK Rent-a-Car]

SK Rent-a-Car said Friday it had successfully completed its 2026 Summer Internship Program, designed to give young talent hands-on work experience and opportunities for professional growth.

Nine interns took part in the program, spending three months working in various operational departments. As part of the curriculum, they completed a range of field-based experiences, including a visit to the Cheonan Auto Auction — one of the largest used-car auction facilities in the country — where they observed the vehicle inspection process and watched live auction proceedings.

"I had imagined a used-car auction would look a bit chaotic, with vehicles packed in everywhere, but it was nothing like that," one intern said. "It was fascinating to see how systematic the entire process was — from checking a vehicle's condition and preparing it for sale to putting it up for auction."

Kim Hyun-jin, a manager on SK Rent-a-Car's HR team who oversaw the internship and recruitment, said the program was designed in close coordination with operational departments so that interns with limited work experience could explore their aptitudes and potential through direct, hands-on tasks. "Even over a short period, we could clearly see them grow through the experience of working alongside team members and exchanging feedback," she said.

Alongside the internship, SK Rent-a-Car has also been strengthening a field-focused onboarding program to help newly joined employees settle into the organization quickly.

The direct sales team, which recently welcomed three new hires, has been using hands-on onboarding to help them get up to speed. The approach follows a cycle of learning, immediate application and feedback. New members receive practical assignments every day and meet one-on-one with the team leader every three days to a week to review their sales activities and results and map out the next set of tasks.

Rather than sending new hires out to find customers without direction, the team has them segment potential customer groups by industry, identify targets and build an approach strategy, SK Rent-a-Car said. Senior sales staff have also actively passed on the customer-prospecting and consultation know-how they have built up in the field.

Lee Jae-hong, head of SK Rent-a-Car's direct sales team, said new hires come in without preconceived notions about how sales should be done, which allows them to absorb the techniques veterans have built up and make them their own. "Above all, they have a strong drive to set their own goals and deliver results to match," he said.

Kim Hyun-jin said recruitment should not end with selecting the right people. "I believe it has to extend to connecting new members with the organization so they can adapt well and bring their strengths to bear," she said. "We stay in constant communication with operational teams to make sure hiring and onboarding flow together naturally."

The moves come as SK Rent-a-Car continues to pursue changes in talent development and organizational culture alongside efforts to sharpen its business competitiveness following a change in ownership.

The initiatives align with SK Rent-a-Car's broader strategy to strengthen its business and organizational capabilities since the ownership change. In 2024, Affinity Equity Partners acquired a 100 percent stake in the company from SK Networks, bringing in a new majority shareholder.

"Sustained corporate growth requires not only investment in systems but also continuous investment in the people who run them," a company official said. "We will keep providing young people with meaningful, practical job-training opportunities to fulfill our social responsibilities, while building a flat and inclusive organizational culture where new members can freely develop their capabilities."

Meanwhile, SK Rent-a-Car has rolled out Google Workspace — Google's cloud-based collaboration and productivity platform — across the entire organization as it shifts its work environment from a virtual desktop infrastructure to a generative AI-integrated, cloud-based setup.


eyre@heraldcorp.com