Goldman Sachs Korea co-head Chung to move to Hyundai Capital

Goldman Sachs’ Chung Hyung-Jin, co-head of the Seoul office and the leader of the firm’s investment banking (IB) business in South Korea, will resign from the company and become Hyundai Capital chief executive in June, The Korea Economic Daily found on Tuesday. 

Chung, who joined Goldman Sachs in 1999 and became the Seoul office's co-chief in 2017, has overseen deals and initial public offerings for affiliates of Korean conglomerates such as Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group.

Hyundai Capital, a financial services affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, is expected to strengthen its merger and acquisition activities and equity capital market (ECM) businesses by hiring Chung, an IB industry source said.

Chung will be replaced by Choi Jae-joon, a managing director who leads fixed income, currency and commodities at the Seoul office. The office’s other co-head, Byun Sang-min, who has led the ECM businesses in Asia ex-Japan, will temporarily oversee the IB division.

The Korean affiliate earned enormous fee revenue from Softbank Group’s early investment in Coupang Inc. leading to the e-commerce giant’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021.

Goldman Sachs has expanded its presence in Korea by advising large initial public offerings for local companies such as Kakaopay Corp. and the sale of food delivery app operator Woowa Brothers Corp. to Germany-based Delivery Hero in 2021 amid a low interest rate environment.

But the IB's activities in the Korean merger and acquisition scene were lackluster last year, with advisory services for online portal giant Naver Corp.'s acquisition of Poshmark Inc., an e-commerce marketplace for new and secondhand styles.

Some banking industry insiders say the Seoul office’s position within Goldman Sachs has weakened in recent years.

The IB announces lists of new managing directors and partners every two years. The company is slated to announce new partners in November, but industry insiders say it's unlikely for a Seoul office employee to be promoted to the position this year.

There have been no promotions to partner in Korea since Kim Jong-yoon, a former Seoul office chief who moved to The Carlyle Group in 2019, became the first partner at the Korean affiliate in 2012.

Updated with Chung's next employer on March 12.

Write to Jun-Ho Cha at chacha@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.