Korea’s military fund looking for new financial division chief

South Korea’s Military Mutual Aid Association (MMAA) is looking for the successor of its financial division chief Kim Jae-dong, whose extended four-year term is expiring this month.

MMAA posted the job on its website on Mar. 4. The incoming financial division CIO will take office on May 1 for a three-year term.

The outgoing Kim has led the financial operations of the $10 billion retirement fund since 2017 as its first CIO from within. 

The job posting came after Kim You-geun took over as the military fund's chairman last month. Previously, the chairman had served as deputy director of the country's National Security Council and lieutenant-general of the army.

Of 11.6 trillion won ($10 billion) in assets as of the end of 2019, MMAA has deployed 67% to investment assets. In 2019, it posted an investment return of 7.8%.

This year, it earmarked 2.1 trillion won for new investments, breaking down into 1 trillion won each for alternatives and real estate, as well as 100 billion won for fixed income.

The MMAA plans to gradually increase alternatives to 32.9% of its investment assets by 2024 from last year’s 28%, while curtailing exposure to equities to a single-digit level of 9.2% by 2024, versus 14.9% in 2020, according to the medium-term allocation plan posted on its website.

Write to Jung-hwan Hwang at jung@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.