Mirae Asset founder’s dividend donations reach W23.2b over nine years

Park Hyeon-joo, founder and currently global investment strategy officer of Mirae Asset Financial Group, will be donating his last year’s dividends, marking nine consecutive years of the practice of social responsibility, officials said Monday.

The donation amounts to 1.6 billion won ($1.41 million) that Park received Friday in dividends at the shareholders meeting of Mirae Asset Global Investments, the asset manager arm of the group.

The entire amount will be delivered to a group-affiliated welfare foundation established in Park’s name and used to fund scholarship programs and other welfare schemes.

Including the latest amount, Park’s accumulated donations total 23.2 billion won over the past nine years, according to officials.

“This is a unique case of noblesse oblige, as Park is the only business leader here to entirely donate his dividends for public deeds,” said an official.

The Mirae Asset Park Hyeon-joo Foundation, established in 2000 at Park’s own expense of 7.5 billion won, has so far supported 5,117 students in overseas exchange programs and 3,391 students in domestic scholarship programs.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)