Where Did Hanyang Securities' Dramatic Growth Begin? 🚀

In 2018, Hanyang Securities was a small firm known in the industry as the "hidden securities company," posting annual operating profit of just 5 billion won. Six years later, operating profit had grown more than tenfold, reaching 54.8 billion won in 2024. At the center of this remarkable transformation was CEO Im Jae-taek — a veteran with 38 years in the securities industry who turned Hanyang Securities into a "lean, profitable firm" and a "talent academy."

CEO Im emphasizes that three things are required for an organization to succeed: people (man), money, and a strategic framework (mechanism). When he first joined Hanyang Securities, however, all three were in short supply. His response was to choose an "unbalanced growth strategy."

"Do work that matches your heartbeat."

1. The Secret to 10x Growth: Unbalanced Growth Strategy and Risk Management

The first thing CEO Im did after joining Hanyang Securities was to build a business strategy matrix and concentrate resources on the area where the company was weakest yet most needed to grow. The area he chose was real estate project financing (PF).

• What is real estate PF?
  • A financing method in which funds are raised using the future cash flows of a real estate development project that is legally independent from the developer.
  • Even companies with low credit ratings can borrow against a project's cash flows alone — a field with high risk but correspondingly high returns.

CEO Im recognized that high risk means the potential for high reward. But because Hanyang Securities was structurally weak, he pursued a different strategy from his competitors.

"We would buy at the ankle and sell below the knee."

• Hanyang Securities' PF strategy
  1. While other securities firms held deals until a three-year maturity, Hanyang Securities would hold for about three months and then sell immediately.
  2. By repeatedly capturing small but certain profits, they minimized risk exposure.
  3. An exit plan was thoroughly prepared so they could always exit without loss.

Thanks to this conservative approach, Hanyang Securities achieved "0% contingent liabilities" and became widely recognized in the industry as a model of risk management.

"Never give the opponent space behind you. Don't enjoy the party. When investing, buy at the ankle and sell below the knee. These were Risk Management Principle No. 1."

2. Securing Key Talent and Organizational Culture: The 'Strict Security Gate' and High-Performer-Centric Strategy

As performance improved, word about Hanyang Securities spread quickly through the industry. A positive reputation built up — "If you go to Hanyang Securities, you'll succeed," "The CEO backs you completely" — and talented people began seeking the firm out on their own.

What CEO Im means by a "good player" is not just someone with skill, but someone with outstanding self-regulation.

"Someone who doesn't cause major incidents. To regulate yourself well, you need a clear goal. People who have something concrete they want to achieve know how to control a great deal — their actions, their emotions, and more."

• Principles for managing talent within the organization
  1. Low performers: Give them about two years, and if there is no change, part ways naturally.
  2. High performers: Focus on motivation and reward — but not excessive indulgence; hold them to a stricter standard.
  3. Organizational atmosphere: Design it so that motivation spreads outward from the high performers.

"Many leaders spend excessive energy on 'special management of low performers.' When energy gets funneled into unsolvable problems, the team deteriorates fast."

CEO Im held to the principle of giving high performers clear rewards while holding them to higher standards. He also stressed that simply catering to high achievers will cause them to leave.

3. How to Revive a Team Steeped in Defeat: Be Willing to Be Called Crazy

When CEO Im joined Hanyang Securities in 2018, the organization was steeped in a sense of defeat. Employees were gripped by the belief that "there's nothing we can do here." To change that atmosphere, he made the radical decision to renovate the entire company office.

"I decided to renovate the entire company. That meant spending 3.8 billion won on a new office at a company whose annual operating profit was 5.3 billion won."

The foundation approved the decision in one minute — because the leader's will to change was unmistakably clear.

"People do voluntarily submit, I realized. So many people give up on their own, thinking, 'It won't work out anyway.'"

CEO Im came to understand that acting without worrying about what superiors think — even at the cost of being disliked — is paradoxically the path to earning genuine trust.

"Remember that your boss is a 'moving target.' Don't work for recognition from superiors. I focused on earning recognition from the market and the industry."

4. The Secret to a Long Career: Finding Work That Matches Your Heartbeat

Despite 38 years in the securities industry, CEO Im says he has never once found the work tedious. The reason is that he is doing work whose rhythm matches his own heartbeat.

"I never walk — I always run. I love focusing on work and going at it like mad. The pace of securities work and my own heartbeat are a perfect match."

• Advice for a long career
  1. Opportunities come to those who persevere stubbornly in one place.
  2. The more good options you have, the harder it is to succeed.
  3. You must keep pushing, enduring discomfort, without giving up.
  4. Luck matters, but you must put in the effort to make that luck yours.

"The more good options you have, the harder it is to succeed. Opportunities come to those who hold on in one place with persistence — those who endure like weeds."

Finally, CEO Im emphasizes that overcoming life's body checks is essential.

"Life is exactly the same. People will envy you, undercut you, take credit for what you've done… The more that happens, the more you should immerse yourself in the work and focus. Keep beating the body checks that life throws at you, and the opportunity will surely come."

He also added that thinking strategically and building your own know-how is the secret to a long and fulfilling career.

Hanyang Securities CEO Im Jae-taek's Growth Strategy, Summarized at a Glance

• Use an unbalanced growth strategy to concentrate on the area where you are weakest but most need to grow
• Make risk management the top priority and keep stacking small, repeatable profits
• Build a talent management system centered on high performers, with clear motivation and reward structures
• Break through defeat in an organization with radical change
• Focus on earning recognition from the industry and market, not from superiors
• Find work that matches your own heartbeat, immerse yourself, and hold on with perseverance
• The importance of the strength to overcome life's body checks and strategic thinking

CEO Im Jae-taek shows through his own life that bold change, rigorous risk management, a talent-centric organizational culture, and finding the right fit between yourself and your work are the core drivers of growth — both for organizations and for individuals. 🌱

"Do work that matches your heartbeat." "Beat the body checks that life throws at you." "Your boss is a moving target. Don't work for their recognition." "Never give the opponent space behind you, don't enjoy the party, buy at the ankle and sell below the knee."

These principles are both the secret behind Hanyang Securities' 10x growth and the career wisdom CEO Im Jae-taek passes on.