Park Hyeon-joo

Park Hyeon-joo
Park in 2015
Born (1958-10-17) October 17, 1958 (age 66)
Gwangju, South Korea
Alma materKorea University (BA, 1983)
OccupationBusinessman
EmployerMirae Asset Financial Group
Children3

Park Hyeon-joo (Korean: 박현주; born October 17, 1958[1]) is a South Korean businessman. He is the founder of Mirae Asset Financial Group and a venture capitalist.[2] Called the "father of South Korea's mutual fund industry",[3][2][4] he established the first mutual fund in the country in 1998.[5]

He is among the richest people in South Korea. In December 2024, Forbes estimated his net worth as US$1.1 billion and ranked him 31st richest in the country.[2]

Biography

Park was born on October 17, 1958 in Gwangju, South Korea. In 1977, he graduated from Gwangju Jeil High School. In 1983, he graduated from Korea University with a bachelor's in business administration.[1]

In 1986, he joined Dongyang Securities (동양증권; now part of Yuanta Securities). In 1991, he became branch manager of Dongwon Securities (동원증권; now part of Korea Investment & Securities [ko]). In 1996, he was made director of the Gangnam branch of Dongwon Securities.[1]

On July 18, 1997,[6] he cofounded Mirae Asset Investment Advisory and Mirae Asset Global Investments, along with eight colleagues from the securities industry. The company was the first professional asset management company in Korean history.[1] In December 1998, he established the first mutual fund in the country,[5] which was called "Park Hyeon-joo No. 1" (박현주1호).[1][6] The mutual fund quickly proved to be extremely popular, and sold out within hours of its launch.[6] In 2001, he became the chairman of Mirae Asset Group.[1] The company began expanding internationally beginning in 2004.[4]

In 2009, Harvard Business School created a case study on Park and his experience at Mirae Asset.[7] Beginning in 2010, he began donating all his received dividends to talent development and social welfare programs through his foundation, the Mirae Asset Park Hyeon Joo Foundation.[8]

In 2020, a subcompany of Mirae Asset, the vast majority of which was held by Park and his family (91.86%), was fined for unfair transactions that benefitted the owners of the company. Park did not receive any criminal charges for this, as Park did not order the transaction.[9][10]

Personal life

He is married to Kim Mi-gyeong (김미경). The couple have children Park Ha-min (박하민), Park Eun-min (박은민),[11][1] and Park Jun-beom (박준범). Their three children have each studied in the United States.[1]

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 박, 혜린 (2024-07-19). "[Who Is ?] 박현주 미래에셋그룹 회장". 비즈니스포스트 (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  2. ^ a b c "Park Hyeon-joo". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  3. ^ Choe, Man-Su (2024-07-03). "AI to drive Mirae Asset's next-phase growth: chairman". The Korea Economic Daily. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  4. ^ a b "Mirae Asset boasts global presence after 20 years of pioneering business". The Korea Times. 2024-06-26. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  5. ^ a b "For Asset Manager, a Future Beyond Korea". Wall Street Journal. 2007-10-01. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  6. ^ a b c "Investing with an eye for the future". Korea JoongAng Daily. 2009-10-11. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  7. ^ "Harvard Business School to Study Mirae Asset Group". The Korea Times. 2009-12-09. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  8. ^ "Mirae Asset's Park Hyeon-joo donates dividends for 13th consecutive year". Pulse (in Korean). Maeil Business Newspaper. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  9. ^ "Mirae Asset chairman named 'Executive of the Year'". The Korea Times. 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  10. ^ "Mirae Asset hit with big fine for antitrust violations". Korea JoongAng Daily. 2020-05-27. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  11. ^ "Mirae Asset to enter U.S., top exec says". Korea JoongAng Daily. 2010-04-26. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  12. ^ "Mirae Asset moves to leap toward global top tier on recognition of leadership". The Korea Times. 2024-07-23. Retrieved 2024-12-26.