This article was posted on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 2:58 p.m. Jan. 7, 2026.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) have chosen Woori Asset Management as the manager of the No. 1 master fund for the "Future City Fund." The Future City Fund is a fund that supports financing for reconstruction of aging planned cities such as first-phase new towns, and it is expected to be raised as a series of funds totaling 12 trillion won.
On the 7th, investment banking industry sources said the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and HUG selected Woori Asset Management as the preferred negotiator for the entrusted manager (GP) of the No. 1 master fund of the Future City Fund. Technical negotiations and on-site due diligence are currently under way, and the final selection result is expected to be announced next month. The No. 1 master fund will be raised at a minimum scale of 600 billion won.
Seven firms, including Woori Asset Management, IGIS Asset Management, Shinhan Asset Management, KB Asset Management, Kiwoom Asset Management, Cansus Asset Management and Heritage Asset Management, submitted bids for the project. IGIS Asset Management was selected as the secondary eligible negotiator. If negotiations with Woori Asset Management break down, IGIS Asset Management will receive the opportunity to negotiate.
The Future City Fund is the first policy fund introduced to stably supply initial project costs and construction costs for redevelopment projects in aging planned cities. The No. 1 master fund will directly lend initial project costs (up to 20 billion won) to sites that have been designated as redevelopment areas for aging planned cities and have selected a contractor, and when the project is on track it will act as seed money by purchasing subsidiary fund revenue securities to induce private investment.
While typical policy funds directly manage public funds, the core of the Future City Fund is to attract private capital by providing high-quality investment targets guaranteed by the public. The entrusted manager raises private capital to form a master fund (a blind fund) and invests it in subsidiary funds (project funds) for individual business sites.
Currently, there are 111 sites nationwide that are targets for aging planned cities, including Bundang, Ilsan, Pyeongchon, Jung-dong and Sanbon. Considering that leading districts of first-phase new towns are moving quickly, such as submitting special maintenance plans, the government plans to complete fund formation within the first quarter of this year. Since HUG guarantees 100% of principal and interest payments, private funding procurement is expected to proceed smoothly.