[Power K Woman] Yeonju Park, Head of Research Center at Mirae Asset Securities: "When Opportunities Don’t Come Immediately, Make the Most of That Time"

Mirae Asset Securities' First-Ever Female and Youngest Head of Research Center
Building Analyst Expertise Since 2005
Experience with the Smartphone Revolution
Shaping Insights on Electric Vehicles and AI

Mirae Asset Securities' "first-ever woman" and "youngest" Head of Research Center—both titles refer to Yeonju Park, Head of Research Center at Mirae Asset Securities. Throughout her career as an analyst, Park has been responsible for major sectors at the forefront of innovation and change, such as IT, batteries, and artificial intelligence (AI). The journey that shaped this background was not always smooth. Two decades ago, it was rare for female analysts to be assigned to such sectors, and Park endured a period of perseverance to take on these roles. Drawing on her solid experience and the challenges she faced, Park now provides guidance to junior colleagues. She said, "Even if you want to do a certain job, the opportunity doesn't come immediately; what's important is how you spend that time." The following is a Q&A with Park.

Yeonju Park, Head of the Research Center at Mirae Asset Securities, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily at the headquarters in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

-You became the "first" female Head of Research Center at Mirae Asset Securities. How have you been doing?

▲I truly feel that the landscape changes depending on where you stand. I have spent over 20 years as an analyst, but now I find myself thinking in ways I never did before, meeting different people, and I believe this will help me grow significantly. In particular, we are at a crucial turning point where an AI transformation (AX) is necessary, so I am contemplating what strategies should be set at the organizational and company-wide level. Although it is a challenging task, I consider it a great opportunity.

-What made you choose the profession of analyst?

▲I have always been intellectually curious since childhood. Especially during my adolescence, I often wondered, "Why do I think this way?" and "How did I become who I am?" Driven by such questions, I once wanted to study sociology to research how society influenced me. That curiosity eventually led me to economics, one of the critical factors shaping society. There are many ways to observe the economy, but as a securities analyst, you witness economic issues in real time. Because the stock market reacts immediately to issues, it is a job where you can intensely analyze the impact of each issue. I am still satisfied with this aspect of my work.

-It's interesting that you once dreamed of studying sociology.

▲(Laughs) I have always been interested in understanding how society operates and how it affects people. But when I thought about what actually makes an impact, I realized economic factors have a significant influence on society. At our company, there is a saying that "investment is ultimately the eye to read society." Predicting how the world is changing, what people are paying attention to, and what might happen next is, in essence, investment. Investment itself is appealing, but understanding society and the world through it is fascinating to me.

-As a female analyst, you must have experienced some challenges.

▲There has been a tendency to assign female analysts to lighter, softer sectors such as cosmetics or retail. Even just 20 years ago, corporate culture was more conservative than it is now. Typically, after working as a research associate (RA) for 2–3 years, one would be promoted to analyst, taking charge of a sector. However, since I wanted to handle IT rather than soft sectors, opportunities did not come quickly. As a result, I spent nearly five years working on sub-sectors without officially being in charge of a sector. During that time, my peers began debuting as analysts one by one, while I remained in a rather ambiguous position for a long period.

-How did you get through that time?

▲I still remember what my seniors told me back then. They said, "Eventually, your opportunity will come, but what matters is whether you can demonstrate your skills when it does. You cannot control when the opportunity arrives, so instead of worrying about that, spend your time studying English or finance." During that period, I dealt mostly with small and mid-cap IT stocks. These companies' performances fluctuate drastically with trends. In retrospect, my experience visiting and following hundreds of companies in those days was extremely helpful when analyzing other sectors. Now, I pass on the advice my seniors once gave me to my juniors: even if you want to do a certain job, the opportunity does not come right away—how you spend that waiting period and your past experiences are crucial.

Yeonju Park, Head of the Research Center at Mirae Asset Securities, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily at the Euljiro headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

-You have covered a variety of sectors. How did that experience influence you?

▲Within the 2–3 years after joining the IT sector as an RA, the iPhone was released and the smartphone revolution began. While Apple was growing, I witnessed companies like Nokia and Motorola—feature phone manufacturers—decline, which showed me how rapidly industries can change. This experience was valuable even after I moved to other sectors. For instance, when I covered the chemicals sector, the battery industry emerged, and there was a fierce debate over electric vehicles. Having observed the smartphone revolution, I became convinced that electric vehicles would see significant growth. As I researched, I ended up covering Tesla, and then one day Elon Musk introduced the topic of AI, prompting me to consider another wave of disruptive change. These were experiences that taught me how vital disruptive innovation and corporate strategy are.

-Female executives are still uncommon in securities firms. What are your thoughts?

▲This is not unique to the securities industry; overall, the proportion of female executives is low in Korean society. In our industry, the proportion of women is high at the junior level, but as women go through marriage and childbirth, the burden shifts to them and it becomes harder to continue working. Just looking around, unless you live as a "superwoman," it is almost impossible to do everything. There is a structural aspect that needs to be addressed. There need to be institutional mechanisms that allow female employees to have the careers they want while maintaining a balanced life. Company strategy is also important. Mirae Asset Securities has a culture of identifying and giving opportunities to women who can excel. On average, the proportion of women in the company is high compared to other securities firms. I believe these factors provide greater incentives for junior female staff.

-What impact do you think AI will have on analysts?

▲I believe analysts' insight and judgment will become even more important. These days, if you ask AI chatbots questions, you get very detailed explanations. So, I think there will be an increasing amount of AI-based content. In the end, it will be up to humans to determine which content is genuinely valuable and helpful to investors. For example, for any given company, there may be 100 reasons for the stock price to rise and 100 reasons for it to fall, but the ability to pinpoint the most important factors and identify risks will become even more critical. Previously, one of the analyst's roles was to provide explanations, but since AI can sufficiently handle that, what will become important in the future is what kind of proposals or recommendations analysts can offer. The first thing I emphasized after becoming Head of Research Center was, "We must clearly state our opinions."

-There are concerns that AI could replace analysts. What is your view?

▲On the contrary, I believe the value of analysts' expertise and judgment will increase. If AI reduces the amount of simple work that analysts do, they will be able to offer opinions on more stocks than before. Since taking office, I have renamed the Research Center to the AI Research Center and have been trying various initiatives. For example, when analyzing a stock like Tesla, RAs would previously have to organize data ranging from electric vehicle sales to competitor trends and automobile demand—now, this can be handled much more efficiently by asking an AI engine. For those with insight, such developments can be opportunities.

Yeonju Park, Head of the Research Center at Mirae Asset Securities, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily at the headquarters in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

-What are your goals as Head of Research Center?

▲My main goal is to develop strategies that maximize the use of our insights. I aim for us to deliver much more creative and original opinions and reports than before. To this end, we are working on improving work efficiency, encouraging analysts to actively exchange ideas, and motivating them to write more distinctive reports. We are also considering various channels for delivering our findings, such as seminars.

-Do you have any advice for female juniors aspiring to be analysts?

▲As someone who has thoroughly enjoyed being an analyst, one of the great things about this job is that you can study topics you are interested in. For those who are intellectually curious and enjoy analysis, it can be very rewarding. Another advantage is that performance is clearly measurable—your opinion is immediately reflected in the stock price. The incentive structure is clear, which makes you think even more deeply. I believe this is a career with many advantages, so I hope more female juniors will take an interest in it.

▶About Yeonju Park, Head of Research Center at Mirae Asset Securities

Born in 1980, Yeonju Park became the first-ever female and the youngest Head of Research Center in the history of Mirae Asset Securities in March of this year. Since joining Mirae Asset Securities' Research Center in 2005, she has covered sectors such as IT materials and components, chemicals and batteries, and electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and automobiles. In 2024, she was in charge of the global AI sector. She graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Business Administration.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.