GEPS taps Samsung Life's alternative investment head as CIO

Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS) of South Korea has named Baek Joo-hyun, former alternative investment head at Samsung Life Insurance Co., as the new chief investment officer, sources familiar with the matter told The Korea Economic Daily. The pension fund appointed Baek on Friday after it conducted the final interview with seven shortlisted candidates on May 20.

He will take office in June for a two-year term, which can be extended by one year depending on his performance.

In Samsung Life, Baek has led overseas alternative investments, corporate strategic planning, global credit research, portfolio management and others. He earned an M.B.A. at Duke University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) in Korea.

GEPS is a pension scheme for Korean government officials, managing 10 trillion won ($8 billion) in assets as of the end-2021. Alternative investment reaches 2 trillion won. Overseas private debt and real estate make up 20% and 15% of the alternative assets, respectively. Overseas absolute return strategies, private equity and infrastructure respectively account for 7.5%, 4% and 1.5% of the alternative assets.

Current CIO Seo Won-joo’s term will end this month. Seo also worked for Samsung Life for 26 years with various asset management roles in the insurer’s offices in New York, London, Singapore and Seoul. Prior to joining GEPS, Seo served as CIO at PCA Life Insurance Co.’s Korea unit, which was acquired by Mirae Asset Life Insurance Co. in 2018.

Write to Tae-Ho Lee at thlee@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.