Park Hyun-joo, chairman of Mirae Asset Group, has pledged to donate 25 percent of his stake in Mirae Asset Consulting to the Mirae Asset Hope Foundation to foster national talent.
Mirae Asset Group announced on Jan. 2 that Park, the founder of the group, signed a donation agreement with the Mirae Asset Hope Foundation on Dec. 26. The donation will be made at a time when regulations on stock ownership in public interest corporations are eased.
Mirae Asset Consulting is a key company in the governance structure of Mirae Asset Group. Mirae Asset Group has a governance structure which works in the following way. Chairman Park controls Mirae Asset Consulting, which controls Mirae Asset Global Investments, which in turn has power over Mirae Asset Capital. Then, Mirae Asset Capital oversees Mirae Asset Daewoo, and Mirae Asset Life Insurance is under Mirae Asset Daewoo.
Mirae Asset Consulting is a de facto family-controlled company with Chairman Park holding 48.63 percent of the shares and his wife, Kim Mi-kyung, holding a 10.24 percent stake. Park’s three children and nephew also have stakes in the company. Park once said that “my children will participate in the board of directors with their stakes, but I will leave the management of Mirae Asset Consulting to professional managers.” Insiders of the financial investment industry have estimated the value of Park’s 25 percent stake in Mirae Asset Consulting to be worth around 250 to 300 billion won.
The Mirae Asset Hope Foundation was founded by Park in honor of his parents. Since its establishment in 1998, it has been engaged in various social contribution programs including providing scholarships to college students in Korea for their studies and personal development.
Park also plans to donate shares of Mirae Asset Capital and Mirae Asset Global Investments through a discussion with his family members in the future.