More LPs tap ex-Samsung Life professionals as CIOs

A number of financial experts who built their careers at Samsung Life Insurance Co. are in the spotlight as more South Korean pension funds and mutual aids are tapping them as chief investment officers (CIOs). 

Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS) of Korea internally appointed Baek Joo-hyun, former alternative investment head at Samsung Life, as its new CIO last month. Baek built expertise in overseas investment at Samsung Life’s New York office and will take office managing 10 trillion won ($7.7 billion) in assets from July, The Korea Economic Daily understood. The latest CIO at GEPS Seo Won-joo, whose term ended in May, also worked at Samsung Life for 26 years.  

Park Dae-yang (David Park), the CIO at sovereign wealth fund Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), also worked at Samsung Life from 1987 for around a decade. Following his time with the insurer, Park served as CIO at Allianz Life Insurance Co. and Teachers’ Pension of Korea.

Military Mutual Aid Association (MMAA) CIO Lee Sang-hee served at Samsung Life from 1989 to 2014 as the head of strategic investment, equity investment and the New York office. Lee Kyu-hong, the CIO at Teachers’ Pension (TP), served as a research analyst at Samsung Life for four years from 1996. 

Park Chun-seok (Richard CS Park), the CIO at Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives (KFCC), started his financial career in 1995 at Samsung Life. Huh Jang, who became the CIO of Public Officials Benefit Association (POBA) in February, served as securities investment head at Samsung Life. Lee Wea-hwan, who served as CIO at Construction Workers Mutual Aid Association (CWMA) before the current one, led equity investments at the insurer.

Former Samsung Life employees are also expanding their presence in the private equity market. Hans Jung, president of Seoul-based Cactus Private Equity, served as a PE manager at Samsung Life from 2001 to 2003. Lee Sang-hoon, chief risk officer (CRO) at IMM Private Equity, worked for the insurer from 2001 for 15 years.   

Samsung Life manages 235 trillion won in assets, excluding capital in separate accounts, as of end-March 2022. The alternative investment portion reached 27 trillion won. Of this amount, the insurer is planning to raise the overseas asset proportion from the current 29% to 43% by end-2025.

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