This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:44 p.m. on Mar. 26, 2026.
As the National Pension Service and Shinsegae Property are pushing to transfer the asset of Yeoksam Centerfield, a core office asset in Seoul's Gangnam area, multiple asset managers are considering joining the deal.
Although the asset has entered the core stage, significantly lowering the management fee, and the existing manager IGIS Asset Management's equity must also be acquired, some managers are considering participation because it could create a point of contact with the National Pension Service.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 26th, the National Pension Service and Shinsegae Property have completed talks with IGIS Asset Management and are proceeding with the procedure to transfer the Yeoksam Centerfield asset. Advisor CBRE Korea plans to select the final candidate next month and complete the asset transfer within the first half. Koramco Asset Management and KB Asset Management are said to be competing.
Yeoksam Centerfield is a prime office complex built on the former Renaissance Hotel site on Teheran-ro in Gangnam District, Seoul. It consists of twin towers with 7 basement levels to 36 above-ground floors, a hotel, and commercial facilities, with a total floor area of about 239,242㎡. Based on its prime location in the Gangnam business district and a solid tenant base, it has been operated virtually without vacancy since completion. It is evaluated as an asset with stable cash-generating ability, capable of paying more than 30 billion won in annual dividends.
This transaction is structured to hand over IGIS Asset Management's status as manager. IGIS Asset Management has overseen the asset from the early development stage and led the value-add strategy that lifted the asset's value. It led the project from the pre-construction stage, attracting tenants, stabilizing the asset, and refinancing, turning it into today's prime office. In the process, it is said to have received an annual management fee of about 4 billion won.
By contrast, the newly selected manager will be subject to a reduced fee structure. The market views the annual management fee as having been cut to around 1 billion won. That is because Yeoksam Centerfield has already entered a stabilization phase, shifting the management focus from further value enhancement to maintenance and operations. The view is that the additional value-up potential is low. Some say a plan to exclude performance fees (incentives) is also being discussed.
While fees have decreased, the initial burden has grown. The new manager must also acquire the equity that IGIS Asset Management holds in its proprietary account. IGIS Asset Management holds about 0.5% of the fund's equity, whose value has risen from about 5 billion won at the time of investment to around 20 billion won now. For this reason, participation by independent managers was reportedly limited.
Even so, the reason major managers are considering participation lies in the strategic incentive of expanding collaboration with the National Pension Service. A track record of transactions with the National Pension Service serves as an important reference in future fundraising and bidding for large deals. Koramco Asset Management and KB Asset Management are also said to have reviewed this deal to broaden their touchpoints with the National Pension Service.
In the industry, this transaction is being evaluated as a deal where strategic value takes precedence over profitability. An industry official said, "Yeoksam Centerfield is a completed asset with nothing much to tweak at the moment, so fees have no choice but to be low," adding, "Without a track record of building a relationship with the National Pension Service and operating a 'trophy asset,' it is a structure that is hard to jump into readily."