KTCU names financial investment head as new CIO

Korean Teachers’ Credit Union (KTCU) has named its former Financial Investment Department head Park Man-soo as its new chief investment officer, the pension fund announced on Jan. 17. Park’s term in the office is three years.

The new CIO started his career at KTCU in 1992. He led the Global Business Team at the former Development Business Department and Real Estate Investment Team at the Alternative Investment Department. As the former head of the Property Management Department, Park dealt with assets under KTCU and its subsidiaries including a hotel, savings bank and an insurance company. Until the current promotion, he was leading equity and fixed income investment within the Financial Investment Department. 

He led KTCU's $130 million investment in the acquisition of Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant in San Diego in October 2019. The injection was part of a $175 million equity investment led by Korea's Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. for a target IRR of a net 6.9%. In July 2012, Park led KTCU's 50 billion won ($42 million) investment in Vintner's Place, an office building in London. Exiting in three years, the pension fund earned 23.3 billion won including 11.3 billion won in dividends and 12 billion won profit from the sale.

Park has also managed some domestic real estate deals. He led KTCU’s 397 billion won ($333.7 million) investment in the 1 trillion won acquisition of 36-story SG Tower near Seoul Station in July 2020. As the deal consisted of 560 billion won in loans and 480 billion won in equity investments, KTCU’s injection represented more than 80% of the equity investment.

In November 2014, he managed KTCU’s 100% acquisition of Autoway Tower, a 14-story-building in Seoul, for 309 billion won ($259.6 million) from SK Networks Co. through IGIS Asset Management. The Google for Startups Campus in Seoul has been renting part of the building since 2015.

Born in 1965, Park earned his master’s degree from the Graduate School of Real Estate Studies at Konkuk University, Korea.

In addition, the pension fund named the former head of Corporate Strategy Department Kwak Jae-hwan as its director of Management Support. Kwak will lead general affairs, information technology system and property management of the pension fund. Born in 1967, Kwak served as head of the former PR Team, and the Legal Support Team and Corporate Strategy Department.

KTCU manages 41 trillion won in assets as of the second quarter of 2021. The pension fund will maintain the 58% proportion of alternative investment in 2022, its former CIO Kim Ho-hyun told The Korea Economic Daily last November. It allocates 21.1% of the assets to equity investment.  

Write to Chang-Jae Yoo at yoocool@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.