This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 1:49 p.m. on Dec. 10, 2025.
The National Pension Service raised the possibility of pulling its investment during its protest over the sale of IGIS Asset Management, the No. 1 domestic real estate asset manager. It said this was because reports on funds to which the National Pension Service had invested were disclosed to potential buyers without prior consent during the sale of management control.
The National Pension Service is the largest investor that provided funds on the trillion-won scale to IGIS Asset Management. As of last year, it invested 2.1 trillion won in 10 funds. If a recovery of the investment materializes, some say it could put the brakes on the ongoing sale of management control.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 10th, the National Pension Service recently lodged a strong protest with IGIS over fund reports being provided to Hanwha Life, Heungkuk Life, and Hillhouse Investment Management Ltd., and even mentioned the possibility of fully recovering its investment.
The National Pension Service particularly took issue with the fact that information from some large funds managed by IGIS was shared with potential buyers without seeking prior consent. An industry official said, "Most pension funds do not have confidentiality clauses, but for six funds that hold large assets such as Yeoksam Centerfield and Magok One Grove, information cannot be shared without the National Pension Service's prior consent."
The official added, "However, the reports shared with potential buyers did not include the fact that the National Pension Service is an investor, and I understand they contained information such as the fund's commitment size, its valuation, and what issues there are related to the asset."
The National Pension Service was also said to have raised objections to IGIS Asset Management selecting a foreign fund as the preferred bidder. A foreign player was not among IGIS's original options, and it protested that information had not been properly shared in advance while demanding an explanation of how a foreign manager suddenly emerged. If a delegated manager breaches a contract, the National Pension Service can review terminating the mandate or recovering funds.
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, advisors for the sale of IGIS Asset Management, notified China-based Hillhouse Investment Management Ltd. the previous evening that it had been selected as the preferred bidder. In the main bidding, Hillhouse submitted a sale price of 1.1 trillion won, beating Hanwha Life and Heungkuk Life to be chosen as the preferred bidder.
The industry believes that if the National Pension Service pulls its entire investment from IGIS Asset Management's funds as warned, the sale of management control could face setbacks. This is because the company's total assets under management (AUM) would inevitably shrink significantly, likely slashing its valuation. Some also say this could raise the prospect of adjusting the terms and valuation in the transaction with Hillhouse, or even renegotiating the deal itself.
With this move by the National Pension Service, the sale of IGIS Asset Management has hit another snag. The previous day, Heungkuk Life said there were unfair practices and "deception" in the process by which the sale advisors selected Hillhouse as the preferred bidder, and noted it would not rule out legal action. It is also reviewing filing for an injunction followed by both civil and criminal complaints.