Park Young-ok

Young Ok Park Chairman and CEO, Smart Investment Group Seoul, South Korea

Young-Ok Park (Korean: 박영옥, born April 28, 1961) is a South Korean investor, widely known as Stock Farmer for his long-term investing value philosophy. Chairman and CEO of Smart Income Inc., Park is frequently referred to as the Korean Warren Buffett.

1 Education

2 Career

2.1 Timeline

2.2 Philosophy

2.3 Holdings

3 Personal life

4 Published books

5 Awards

Education

Park Young-Ok graduated from Chung-Ang University in 1982 with a Bachelor in Business Administration. He then acquired a Master of Finance Management at the Graduate School of International Business Administration.

Career

Career > Timeline

After serving as fund manager for Hyundai Investment Research Institute, Daishin Securities and International Investment Advisory, Park became head of Kyobo Securities’ Apgujeong branch in 1997.

Following 9/11, Park became a full-time investor. Using some of his own money and some that he had borrowed from friends, he invested 3 billion won in plummeting companies, which recovered after six months. He established his own company, Smart Income, in 2005, and never stopped seeing opportunity in crisis: he made some of his best investment returns during the 2008 and 2013 financial crises.


Park has been a professor at Chung-Ang University Graduate School of Industrial Start-up Management since 2013. In 2015, he became Director of Youth Future Network, as well as Co-representative of Unification and Sharing. In 2018, he became Associate President of the Korea Tax Association.

Career > Philosophy

Park is widely considered to be the Warren Buffett of Korea. He adresses himself as Stock Farmer: just as farmers grow crops carefully, choosing varieties that are resistant to pests and have high yields, stock farmers emphasize investments that help companies grow. Park’s stock investment philosophy is that after sowing, he should always communicate with the company he invested in as if he was going to the rice paddies and looking for crops. He sets a minimum investment period of three to five years. Some investments have been held for more than 10 years. “Long-term investment is the only answer,” he stresses. “I don’t like the term ‘trade’ either. If we approach things through trading, we won’t exceed 1 billion won at most.” Park’s initial stock of 45 million won in 1998 was increased by 5,000 times. As of 2022, he owns more than 100 billion won in stocks in public record.

To Park, short-term strategies only bring pocket money. His advice is to “not buy and resell, but find three to four companies to accompany you for the rest of your life”, and also “study for at least two to three years before investing in a company in earnest.”

Park’s favored sector to accompany is agriculture. In 2022, Park advises to pay attention to the following sectors: cyber-security, aerospace, and k-food.

Career > Holdings

Park prefers to say he ‘accompanies’ companies, instead of simply holding stocks. He has accompanied the instrumental growth of Korean companies such as Boryeong Pharmaceutical, Nongshim, Ahn Lab, Hotel Shilla, Sun, Continental Pavilion, Samcheonri Bicycle, Setrek Eye, Samkwang Glass, Jogwang Leather, Coentech, Daedong Industrial, GKL, Paradise, Kangwon Land, National Treasure Design, DPC, ATINUM Best, and Very Good Travel.

As of 2022, Park is second-biggest shareholder of 5 to 10 IPOs, including Samsung Electronics, POSCO Holdings, Amore Pacific, Hankook Tire, Korea Economic TV, IDIS Holdings, Alton Sports, and National Treasure Design. Very Good travel, another one of these companies, has reported that as of 2022, Park’s stake has expanded from 8.75% to 11.15%. His stock holdings increased from 1,225,508 to 1,560,803 shares.

Personal life

Park lives with his wife and has three children, including art collector and curator Su Park, who also serves as International Acquisitions Director at Smart Income Inc.

Published books

Park Young-Ok has published a number of books, most of which became steady best-sellers in Korea.

2021 : 주식투자의 절대원칙 (The absolute principles of stock investment)

2018 : 돈일하게 하라 (Let your money work)

2015 : 주식회사의 약속 (The promise of a stock company)

2015 : 주식, 농부처럼 투자하라 (Stocks: invest like a farmer)

2014 : 얘야, 너는 기업의 주인이다 (You’re the owner of the company, kiddo)

2013 : 주식투자자의 (The investor’s viewpoint)

Awards

2017: Dong-A Ilbo’s Trust and Responsibility Division of CEO Enterprises in Korea’s Economy 2016: Monthly CEO Social Responsibility Management Division to Shine Korea’s Future 2015: The Future Management Division of the Creative Management Awards in Korea 2015: CEO Ethics to Shine Korea’s Future 2009: The 7th ‘Proud Culture Award’ Reading Family Division