This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:17 p.m. on Jul. 16, 2026.
The selection of new chief investment officers (CIOs) at pension funds and mutual aid associations, the "big players" in Korea's capital market, has shifted into inter-agency personnel exchanges. A high bar that requires experience as a head of an asset management department or higher, combined with a short two-year term, has cemented a structure in which a small pool of people move between institutions.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 16th, the Teachers' Pension named Baek Ju-hyun, former Government Employees Pension Service CIO, as the new head of the fund management division (CIO). The vacancy opened after former Teachers' Pension CIO Jeon Beom-sik completed a three-year stint—two-year term plus a one-year extension—and stepped down. The former CIO moved to the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives.
Former CIOs of pension funds and mutual aid associations have also been widely listed as candidates for the next CIO of the National Pension Service's fund management division. Former National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives CIO Kim Ho-jin, former Teachers' Pension CIO Lee Gyu-hong, and former Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid asset management division CIO Lee Do-yun were included in the pool.
At least the Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid appointed Noh Cheol-gyu, former executive director at Hanwha Asset Management, and The Police Mutual Aid Association appointed Kang Seung-oh, former Shinhan Investment & Securities Deputy Minister, as new CIOs. Some mutual aid associations showed private-sector inflows, but many candidates were still said to be former CIOs of pension funds and mutual aid associations.
Behind the inter-agency moves of CIOs at pension funds and mutual aid associations are relatively high qualifications. For CIO applicants, pension funds and mutual aid associations require experience serving as a head of an asset management department or higher at a financial institution and more than 10 years in asset management and investment.
On top of that, the short term has fixed a structure in which vacancies are filled by CIOs from other institutions. In practice, the CIO terms at the National Pension Service, Teachers' Pension, Government Employees Pension Service, Yellow Umbrella Mutual Aid, and The Police Mutual Aid Association are two years, extendable in one-year increments based on performance. Positions open up every two to three years.
With a small candidate pool, some seats remain unfilled even when they open. The Police Mutual Aid Association left the CIO post vacant for two years and eight months after the previous CIO stepped down in Oct. 2023. At the sovereign wealth funds Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), CIO Lee Hoon's term ended last year, but no successor has been chosen. Lee is still carrying out the role.
Some also say inter-agency CIO moves fuel investment herding at pension funds and mutual aid associations. In a framework where one has to knock on a neighboring institution's door after a two-year term, there is little incentive to make different choices. If one goes it alone and gets it wrong, there is no next seat in a small market.
A prime example is when domestic pension funds and mutual aid associations rushed into overseas offices around 2018 and took losses. A source in the IB industry said, "In our country, the asset management structures of two institutions as different in size and nature as the National Pension Service and The Police Mutual Aid Association are almost the same."
There is a view that the first step should be to consider extending CIO terms to fit the basic philosophy of pension and mutual aid fund management: "long-term investment." For reference, the average tenure of CIOs at major U.S. public pension funds is over six years, ensuring a structure where long-term philosophy leads to consistency and results.
Christopher Ailman, the immediate past CIO of the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), served for 24 years from 2000 to June 2024. Mark Delaney, former CIO of AustralianSuper, Australia's largest pension fund, likewise held the post for 20 years from 2006 to this June.
A former CIO of a domestic mutual aid association said, "Because the term is short, the drive to push new investment approaches weakens and one can't help but skew toward short-term performance," adding, "Given the nature of public institutions, decisions take time, and in many cases investment approvals came only near the end of the term."