Global private equity fund (PEF) manager Carlyle has reorganized the leadership of its Korea investing team.
Carlyle said on the 16th that it appointed Managing Director Jeong Ik-su as head of Korea for Carlyle Asia Partners and named former Korea head Kim Jong-yoon as chairman of Korea.
Jeong, the new head, will be based in Seoul and oversee sourcing of domestic buyout opportunities and execution of new investments. Jeong is an investment professional with more than 20 years of private equity (PE) and investment banking (IB) experience in Korea, China and Southeast Asia. Most recently, Jeong served as a partner at Affinity Equity Partners, where for about 15 years Jeong led major investments across industries including financial services, e-commerce, Fintech and automobiles. Before that, Jeong worked at TPG Capital in Hong Kong and Citigroup in New York.
Born in 1978, Jeong studied economics and engineering at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. While at Affinity, Jeong led multiple transactions, including acquiring equity in Hyundai Card and acquiring SK Rent-a-Car, and was promoted to partner in 2022 to serve as Korea head.
Chairman Kim Jong-yoon plans to strengthen networks with senior management at major domestic corporations going forward and focus on supporting existing portfolio companies. Kim, a former Goldman Sachs banker, joined Carlyle in 2019 and has led the Korea investing team.
The personnel move was reportedly driven at the global headquarters level. After Managing Director Ham Seok-jin recently left the firm, analysis suggests the restructuring of leadership at the Korea office has gathered pace. Industry watchers say the structure has shifted so that Chairman Kim focuses on a senior role while Jeong oversees day-to-day investment execution.
X.D. Yang, chair of Carlyle Asia, said, "Jeong Ik-su has a deep understanding of the Korea market and a proven investment track record," adding, "Jeong is the right person to further strengthen our investment activity in the Korea market." Yang also said, "Chairman Kim Jong-yoon has played a pivotal role across the Korea team and the portfolio to date."
Yang added, "Korea is an important market where private equity opportunities are expanding as improvements in corporations' governance and changing views on succession continue," and said, "Through this leadership reshuffle, we will reaffirm our long-term commitment to the Korea business and strengthen our organizational competitiveness."
Carlyle has invested more than $4 billion in the Korea market over the past 20-plus years. Major investments include ADT Caps, KB Financial Group, Kakao Mobility, A TWOSOME PLACE, Hyundai Glovis and KFC Korea.