Alumnus Dae-gyun Mok (BA, ‘95)

Introducing the Interviewee: Alumnus Dae-gyun Mok

Alumnus Dae-gyun Mok (BA, ‘95) began his career as an analyst at the Daewoo Securities Research Center and built expertise in global investment management while working for Mirae Asset Management across South Korea, India, and Singapore. In 2020, he co-founded K Global Partners with Sungboo Kang, the CEO of KCGI. Since 2023, he has served as CEO of KCGI Asset Management, overseeing a company with approximately 5.7 trillion won in assets.

Q. Please briefly introduce your job responsibilities. Can you also walk us through your career path since your graduation from SMIC?

As the CEO of KCGI Asset Management, I oversee a company with approximately 5.7 trillion won in assets. I manage the company and the funds that can contribute to improving corporate governance in Korea and to fostering the long-term growth of the capital market.

My path after graduation has been straightforward. After starting my career as an analyst at the Daewoo Securities Research Center in 2002, I moved to Mirae Asset Management in 2005 and worked in Korea, India, and Singapore. For about 12 years, starting in 2998, I served as a global fund manager, overseeing global equity funds, including Insight, Global Growth, and G2 Innovator, with assets totaling approximately 3 trillion won. I became independent by establishing K Global Partners in December 2020 and have been leading KCGI Asset Management since July 2023.

Q. What was the main reason you chose SMIC among the many student clubs and what kind of person were you when you first joined the club?

I did not have a specific plan. I happened to attend an SMIC meeting right after being discharged from the military in 1998, and I decided to join on the spot. It was right after the IMF financial crisis, so my career path was far from clear. I yearned to learn more about the economy and finance because I had just witnessed how they could affect society. I think it was the frustration of not being able to explain the phenomena right before my eyes with textbook knowledge alone that led me to SMIC

Q. What was the most challenging moment during your time at SMIC, and when did you feel you grew the most?

The most challenging moment came in 1999. At the time, society did not view students investing in stocks favorably, and the club’s very existence was in jeopardy as students who had lost interest in the activities began to leave one by one. I still vividly remember applying to become a central club, but we were rejected because our activities were “not suitable for students.

Conversely, the moment I felt I grew the most was in 2000, when I pondered how to revive the club as its president. I drew on the activities of investment student groups at American universities and applied marketing and human resource management theories I learned as a business administration major to running the club and came to realize how the concepts I learned in the classroom could be applied to solve real-world issues. I believe that the period when we changed the club’s name to the “SNU Investment Research Society’ and laid the club’s foundation alongside the members of the first integrated cohort, including Sungboo Kang, CEO of KCGI; Seong-hwan Hwang, CEO of Timefolio; and Joo-sang Lee, former CMO of Timefolio Asset Management, shaped who I am today.

Q. While working in the field, what skills made you think “I really did learn this well at SMIC?”

The greatest skill is “to learn independently.” At that time, there was no one who could teach us at SMIC. There were no mentors or a structured curriculum. We had to decide what to study and how to study it and search for materials ourselves. If we did not know something, we had to find the answer through discussion. That is the life of a fund manager. There is no single right answer in the market, and you encounter variables that cannot be found in books every day. I believe the strength to remain steadfast in such situations and to create my own answers was first formed in the club room rather than in the classroom.

Q. What are your unique criteria or perspectives when analyzing a company or industry?

The first metric I check when analyzing a company is its Return on Equity (ROE). That is because a company’s business model is reflected in a single metric, the ROE. By breaking down a company’s return on assets, asset turnover, and leverage structure using the DuPont analysis, you can see at a glance how the company uses its assets to generate profits.

However, there is one principle I value as much as the metrics. Before purchasing, I always start by writing down, “Why might this decision be wrong?” in one sentence. I do not buy if I am unable to answer this question. Positions that cannot be explained by the trader’s criteria lack the basis to withstand volatility in the stock market. Moreover, I believe that “outsourcing one’s thinking,” that is, making decisions based on others’ recommendations or market sentiment, is a habit which investors should avoid.

Q. What was the environment for activities like in the early days of SMIC? What would be the unique “characteristic” or “tradition” that has remained unchanged throughout SMIC’s history?

The circumstances were very different from now. We did not receive incentives or recognition; rather, there was strong social resistance to students studying the stock market. It was difficult to find places to host meetings, and our application to become a central student club was denied. The starting and ending points of all our operations were: “How can we encourage students to participate willingly?”

What is interesting is that even after 30 years, the tendency formed in such a harsh environment lives on to this day. I still work with members of the integrated first cohort from 1999 to 2000, including Sungboo Kang, CEO of KCGI, and Seong-hwan Hwang, CEO of Timefolio, in the same industry. When I recently heard from a current student that SMIC is “one of the three best academic societies at the College of Business Administration,” I found it quite rewarding.

If there is one thing that hasn’t changed, it is the students’ self-initiated yearning to understand the market and their drive to quench that thirst through real-world experience. I believe this sense of initiative is what has kept SMIC going for thirty years.

Q. As a veteran in the industry, you must have experienced many changes in the market. What would be the fundamental attitude business administration students should maintain?

I would choose humility and perseverance. Finance is a field where countless companies and talent around the world are in fierce competition. Yesterday’s right answer often becomes wrong the next day, and the decision you were so convinced was correct often turns out to be a matter of luck. So, maintaining a mindset of constant learning is the most difficult yet important attitude.

Humility should also be accompanied by perseverance. Regardless of the field, a minimum amount of time and effort is required to reach a certain level, and that journey is replete with unexpected challenges and setbacks. The perseverance and courage to withstand that period are essential qualities that make all the difference in the outcome.
Q. From your perspective as a leader, what kind of capabilities make a junior employee stand out?

The first aspect I consider is the person’s personality. Lack of experience and knowledge can be compensated for over time with great seniors and colleagues, but personality cannot.

 In addition, I consider a person’s perseverance, courage, and positive attitude. Becoming a financial expert takes a long time and involves many unexpected pitfalls, and a large part of our work involves communicating with investors and beneficiaries, so one should have a firm, positive attitude toward people.

One thing I find most disappointing is that many juniors start their careers with “money itself” as their goal. Money is definitely important. However, money is an outcome that naturally follows when you have sufficiently developed your capabilities and career, not something you can gain simply by pursuing it. I hope that students can realize this sooner.

Q. What is “SMIC” for you in one word?

For me, SMIC is a “starting point.” It was in 1998, when I happened to knock on the clubroom door, that I first began my lifelong relationship with the capital markets. The fellow members of the first integrated cohort I met there have also been colleagues in the same industry, even to this day. Furthermore, the time I spent finding my own answers in an environment with no definitive answers still serves as a starting point whenever the market fluctuates, reminding me to reconsider the essentials.

Q. Lastly, please share a word of advice to the Business School students.

Rather than weighing which choice would yield greater rewards, I encourage you to first consider the kind of person you want to be in 10 or 20 years. Short-term returns come with time, but your ability and attitude are yours only through your own effort. Moreover, please do not forget that you need to invest time to gain an in-depth understanding in whichever field you enter. One important lesson I learned in my SMIC days was the experience of finding my own answers in a place where there were no set answers. The strength forged through that experience is what still sustains me. I sincerely hope that such opportunities will often come your way.

Alumnus Jewook Park (BA ‘12)

I am currently responsible for strategic investments and M&A in non-gaming sectors at Krafton. Recently, I have been reviewing investment opportunities in AI-related startups and technology sectors. My responsibilities include not only reviewing financial investment opportunities but also considering how the company can respond to AI-led changes in the market and industry.

After completing my SMIC activities, I served as an officer in the Marine Corps and joined Krafton after working for an international IB and in private equity. Looking back, while the shape of my career has changed, it seems I have continued to work on “finding and evaluating good business opportunities.”

Q. What was the main reason you chose SMIC among the many student clubs and what kind of person were you when you first joined the club?

Frankly, I was really concerned about my career. I entered the College of Business Management but was unsure what to do and vaguely thought, “I might be able to earn my share if I join an academic student club.” At the time, I was oddly intrigued by the idea of joining SMIC. I did not really know what value investing was, but the term “value investment” intrigued me, and I was also impressed by what my seniors at SMIC were doing. They were extremely hard-working and seemed earnest about their activities. Looking back, my decision to join SMIC wasn’t so much the result of careful career planning as it was a desire “to live my life as passionately as they do.” Although I really did not know what value investing involved, I oddly found the atmosphere fascinating.

Q. What was the most challenging moment during your time at SMIC, and when did you feel you grew the most?

The biggest challenge at SMIC was its competitive structure with bi-weekly results. At the time, the “winner” was announced after each presentation, and I never won once by the end. After failing to win despite my best efforts, I remember drinking more and more at the post-presentation after-parties.

Nevertheless, when I look back, that process helped me grow the most. More than the competition itself, I learned to acknowledge and celebrate others’ achievements and to reflect on “what I could have done better.” Since graduation, I have come to realize that this attitude is what makes a career long-lasting.

Q. While working in the field, what skills made you think “I really did learn this well at SMIC?”

I believe that at SMIC, I learned the importance of a culture of looking after one another as much as I gained investment knowledge. Back then, seniors in the industry came to campus every weekend, despite their busy schedules, to listen to our presentations, provide feedback, and take care of our afterparties. As a student, I took it for granted, but after I started working, I realized how amazing they were. I think people like them ultimately create a good organization. Talented people taking the time to care for the next generation, and juniors observing, learning, and carrying on this tradition—I think this is the driving force behind SMIC’s long history.

Q. What are your unique criteria or perspectives when analyzing a company or industry?

The biggest lesson I learned while writing reports at SMIC was that the “story” and “numbers” should be connected. There are a plethora of wonderful stories and grand visions in the market. However, investment ideas should ultimately be grounded in numbers, such as returns, profit, and cash flow. It is important to calculate and verify how the changes the company presents actually lead to an increase in value. Even now, when you look at market reports, you can find many cases in which the fancy stories do not exactly match the numbers. So, I always try to calculate “How much is this story actually worth” as precisely as possible.

Q. How do the theories you learned during the lectures at the College of Business Administration and the hands-on research you conducted at SMIC come together in your current role?

Looking back, the things I learned during the accounting classes while struggling to stay awake, formed the backbone of my career. And it was at SMIC where I was able to add flesh to that backbone and turned it into a “living weapon.” I find it surprising that many in the industry do not examine financial statements in detail or look away from uncomfortable numbers. However, I believe that the traces of nearly all of a company’s activities can ultimately be found in its financial statements. If the theories I learned in the accounting classes became the language for reading companies, the hands-on research at SMIC became training to interpret companies using that language. At SMIC, rather than simply memorizing numbers, you are constantly thinking about “how these numbers came about” based on actual business cases. That experience has helped me greatly, even now as I work in investment.

Q. As a member of the cohort bridging the older and younger cohorts, how did the SMIC network help with your career development, emotionally and practically?

The greatest strength of SMIC is that our members are spread across diverse sectors. We are connected throughout a much wider range of sectors than expected, not only in the financial sector but also in industrial, startup, and investment sectors. There are many instances where you can receive practical help, but personally, I think the emotional stability the network provides has been even greater. Even when you enter an unfamiliar sector, you find yourself thinking, “There might be at least one SMIC senior there.” In fact, most of them are really helpful if you reach out to them. After graduating, I have come to realize the importance of mutual trust, and I think such connections become natural at SMIC.

Q. What is “SMIC” for you in one word?

For me, SMIC is “a place where people with a pinch of madness gather.” It is definitely not normal for university students to give up their Fridays and weekends to discuss enterprise values. Nevertheless, at SMIC, there were people who willingly spent their time doing that and writing reports, presenting, and sharing feedback. I think it was a type of “healthy madness.” What is even more amazing is that the people who shared that madness are now thriving in their respective fields in the wider world.

Q. Lastly, please share a word of advice to the Business School students.

I hope you do not feel too impatient as a student. You might feel that you have to quickly decide on a direction and stay one step ahead of everyone else. I felt the same. But as time passed, I found that what really mattered was not how fast you were but how consistent you were. Rather than trying to design a perfect career path from the beginning, I hope you can enjoy what is in front of you and take your time. And, if possible, try to keep as many people in your life as possible. Over time, you tend to remember the people who worked with you rather than the accomplishments you made. Whether it was at SMIC, at university, or at your job, the time spent working hard with great people is what stays with you the longest.

Alumnus Jiheon Kim (BA ‘17)

Introducing the Interviewee: Alumnus Jiheon Kim

Alumnus Jiheon Kim (BA ‘17) graduated from the College of Business Administration at Seoul National University and currently works as an analyst in the Korean Team of MY.Alpha Management, a hedge fund based in Hong Kong. MY.Alpha Management, which spun off from the American hedge fund York Capital Management in 2021, currently manages multi-strategy funds worth seven trillion won and operates one of the largest Korean long-short equity funds.

Q. Please briefly introduce your job responsibilities to us. Can you also walk us through your career path since your graduation from SMIC?

I work as an analyst in the Korean Team at MY.Alpha Management, which is a hedge fund based in Hong Kong. My main responsibilities include analyzing domestically listed stocks and determining when and in what quantities to buy or sell. My day seems to fly by as I follow a constant stream of news, talk with corporate and securities analysts, and monitor market movements.

After graduating from SMIC, I began my career at a Korean activist hedge fund called Align Partners Capital Management, then worked for a long-only fund called Korea Investment Value Asset Management. It’s been a year and a half since I relocated to Hong Kong.

Q. What was the main reason you chose SMIC among the many student clubs, and what kind of person were you when you first joined the club?

I think I always had a vague notion that I wanted to work in investment after completing my military service. Although I was not certain whether I would focus on listed or unlisted stocks, I wanted to analyze companies and make investment decisions as a career, and I applied to SMIC with the belief that it offered the curriculum and network that best suited my goal.

When I look back at myself when I started, I was lacking in many respects. One of my cohort members was obsessed with stocks, and others had no difficulty staying up for two nights, but I was neither of those. I hadn’t even properly analyzed companies before, so in my early days I struggled to know how to approach the tasks. However, I believe I have a strong willingness to learn from others. If there were an outstanding friend next to me, I would keep asking them questions, and I made a lot of effort by writing down all the comments given by our senior members during the presentation sessions. I am still grateful to our club for providing an environment for such activities.

Q. What was the most challenging moment during your time at SMIC, and when did you feel you grew the most?

There was a training session during the vacation at SMIC, held in the middle of the regular activities across two semesters, and I think that was the most challenging moment for me. We were trained in valuation for two weeks, drafted industry reports with fellow cohort members, and finally wrote individual reports to decide who would become the team manager in the following semester. It was an environment where I had to work overnight every day, and there was huge pressure to excel at everything on my own while writing my individual report.

After that, I found myself growing the most in the second semester, when I served as the team manager. We usually spent a semester as a team of five, and it was not that easy to lead four teammates who were already more outstanding than I was. I had to maintain balance in our team's direction, give detailed feedback on each teammate’s work, and respond flexibly to the sharp questions our seniors asked during our report presentations. It was by no means easy, but I think it was a time when I was able to reflect the most deeply on what leadership is and improved as a result.

Q. While working in the field, what skills made you think “I really did learn this well at SMIC?”

I think it is the ability to imagine the future of companies or industries in detail. People tend to find cognitive comfort in analyzing the past or the facts already given to them, but what matters in investing is overcoming the cognitive discomfort of imagining the future. What has helped me most is the experience of estimating the most realistic revenue figures for a company and expressing them as concrete numbers, taking into account the actual competitive landscape within the industry and the interactions among the numerous companies in the supply chain, rather than plugging in arbitrary numbers as a formality when estimating a company’s future revenue, assuming that the market will grow at an average annual rate of N% over the next ten years and that the company’s market share will be X%.

Q. What are your unique criteria or perspectives when analyzing a company or industry?

My priorities would focus on whether the market is large enough, who the competitors are, and whether the company has sufficient economic moats. As someone who analyzes domestic stocks, the most significant point would be whether a stock is attractive enough for a foreign investor unfamiliar with the Korean market to invest the time to pay attention to it, given South Korea's moderate presence in global financial markets.

For example, one of the sectors that saw the biggest price surges in Korea last year was the nuclear power plant sector. A 100 trillion won market opened up when the U.S. government suddenly announced its plan to build 10 large-scale nuclear power plants by 2030, even though there had been virtually no interest in building nuclear power plants in the U.S. However, because there were virtually no companies worldwide (except in China and Russia) capable of providing the main equipment or EPC required for this project in time, investors looking to invest in nuclear power plant construction in the U.S. had no choice but to turn to Korea. Furthermore, since these companies are affiliates of major Korean conglomerates with market values in the trillions, they were also easily accessible to foreign investors. It seems that being able to spot these handful of opportunities faster than others allows you to invest a large sum and generate significant returns.

From a stock market perspective, I also focus on identifying the primary buyers and sellers of a particular stock and the strategies they employ. Even within the same stock market, some stocks are driven by institutional investors like us, while others are driven by domestic retail investors. This trend has become more pronounced due to the continued growth in the ETF market. But when I look at these stocks, I think there is a high chance I would be wrong if I strictly considered valuations as usual.

In the end, one can only earn money in the stock market when one's own idea is recognized by others, so I think it is extremely important to make decisions based on what others think when they focus on a specific stock.

Q. You have been a relatively recent entrant to the field. Why do you think SMIC’s research approach remains competitive, even in today’s highly advanced information society?

I think the difference lies in being responsible rather than in having a specific approach. Thanks to AI, it has become much easier to write “seemingly convincing” reports, but in the past, I think producing such high-quality reports was also recognized as a skill in its own right. However, nowadays I think the ability to polish something and make it presentable has lost its meaning. I believe those who can reach the most honest conclusions on their own and take responsibility for them would be the only ones who could survive.

Looking back on the activities at SMIC, it did not end merely with writing reports; instead, I was in an environment where my ideas were constantly tested in the market by personally investing in stocks using my own investment account and adding stocks to my portfolio during the mock investment competition. The accuracy of my analysis was confirmed by the objective result, which is the rate of return. If that is the case, there is no point in sugarcoating or telling lies. In the end, you lose your money.

This way, I think that whether you take responsibility has a huge impact on the quality of the outcome you produce, and I believe this is what makes SMIC’s research even more special.

Q. Did you find that the title of SMIC became a source of confidence or was actually beneficial at the starting point of your career?

I received help from SMIC every step of the way, from the very beginning of my career to finding my current job. Align Partners Capital Management, where I started my career, had been in business for less than two years at the time. Thanks to an opportunity created by a senior at SMIC, who arranged a dinner with the CEO, a fellow alumnus of the College of Business Administration, I learned what activist investment strategy is and what kind of company Align Partners is. After that, I gained opportunities at other companies through connections with seniors and juniors at SMIC, who introduced me to various positions.

If I look back to the beginning of my career, I recall that everything was unfamiliar and new to me. In particular, my first job required learning a great deal from scratch, as it dealt with publicly traded stocks but required a PE approach. Nevertheless, if there is one thing I learned at SMIC that has been helpful, it was the mindset of “I will be able to do it well in one way or another.” Because I had experiences overcoming challenges during my time at SMIC, I found that my inner resilience has been a major advantage while I was working.

Q. What would be a piece of practical advice for students in their early 20s who are just starting to think about their careers?

Never follow trends and make whether you would be happy doing this for the rest of your life your top factor in deciding.

I have two sisters, who are respectively 7 and 8 years older than I am and have backgrounds in business administration. When they were in college, the most popular career paths were in financial public enterprises or taking the Higher Civil Service Examination. That was just after the bar exam was abolished. When I was an undergraduate student, the most popular paths were to become a CPA or to go on to law school. I am not sure how it is now, but I am certain that the trend will change considerably in five years.

When considering the careers preferred by SNU students, it seems that the key factor is whether a job “guarantees” a reasonable level of stability and high income. However, I think the value of this stability may fade significantly in 10 or 20 years. Given the current pace of AI development, I think no professions—with the exception of some, such as athletes, where human limitations themselves have significance—offer a high degree of security. And when it comes to your income, it is ultimately determined largely by the state of your industry and your own competitiveness 10 or 20 years after you establish yourself to some extent, which is extremely difficult to predict. One of the hottest topics in Korea recently has been the performance-based bonus at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, but even just five years ago, no one would have predicted that these two companies would be making such staggering profits. In the end, I believe that the value of a “stable and high income” may prove to be illusory.

Consequently, I recommend that you prioritize a profession that makes you happiest. You will spend more than half of your waking hours working and the future is too uncertain to pursue other values, such as income and titles, at the expense of happiness. Please consider how much you would enjoy doing this work and how motivated you are to do it well.

Q. What is “SMIC” for you in one word?

For me, SMIC is the first button fastened perfectly. I was able to take my first step as an investor thanks to SMIC, and there hasn’t been a moment since I joined SMIC when I haven't received help from it.

Q. Lastly, please share a word of advice to the Business School students.

It has only been four years since I left the university, but I already feel that as time passes, my world seems to be shrinking rather than expanding. Perhaps it is because I repeat similar tasks every day and the people I see and keep in touch with are limited. On the contrary, I think university is the best time to broaden your horizons. You take different classes every semester, meet different people, and there are so many opportunities to experience new things. I hope that you also spend your precious time as a student expanding your experiences as widely as possible, rather than mindlessly rushing toward a single goal.