Carlyle Appoints Iksoo Chung as Korea Head and Jongyun Kim as Country Head of Korea

Strengthening Korean Leadership Lays the Foundation for Investment Expansion
Accelerating Private Equity Market Strategy

Global investment firm Carlyle announced on April 16 that it has appointed Iksoo Chung, a veteran in the private equity industry, as the new Managing Director and Head of Carlyle Asia Partners (CAP) Korea. In addition, Jongyun Kim has been appointed as Country Head of Carlyle Asia Partners Korea. These appointments are part of Carlyle’s efforts to solidify its presence in Korea, a key market in Asia, and to expand its private equity (PE) activities.

Iksoo Chung, an ‘investment expert’ with pan-Asian experience, joins Carlyle

The newly appointed Iksoo Chung is an investment expert with over 20 years of experience in private equity and investment banking (IB) across Asia, including Korea, China, and Southeast Asia. Until recently, he served as a Partner at Affinity Equity Partners, where he led key investments for 15 years in diverse sectors such as financial services, e-commerce, fintech, and the automotive industry. Previously, he worked at TPG Capital in Hong Kong and at Citigroup in New York. Based in Seoul, Chung will be responsible for identifying domestic buyout investment opportunities and leading new investments.

Since joining Carlyle in 2019, Jongyun Kim has played a central role across the Korean team and its portfolio companies. As Country Head of Carlyle Asia Partners Korea, he plans to further strengthen networks with key domestic management and to continuously support the activities of Korean portfolio companies.

XD Yang, Chairman of Carlyle Asia, said, “Chung is the right person to further strengthen Carlyle's activities in Korea, as he possesses deep expertise in the Korean market and a proven track record in investments,” adding, “Carlyle will continue to pursue buyout opportunities while actively supporting value creation and growth for its Korean portfolio companies.”

“The right person with Korean market expertise... Will support value creation”

Yang also expressed a positive outlook on the Korean investment market. He said, “Korea is an important market, underpinned by a dynamic economic environment and proactive government policies that drive improvements in corporate governance and shareholder value. As generational perceptions of corporate governance and succession continue to change, we expect private equity opportunities to further expand.”

He continued, “With these leadership appointments, we reaffirm Carlyle's long-term commitment to the Korean business and are confident that the team and organization will be further strengthened.”

Meanwhile, as of the end of last year, Carlyle Group is a global investment firm with $477 billion in assets under management. It has 27 offices across four continents and employs more than 2,500 people worldwide. Carlyle has invested more than $4 billion in the Korean market over the past 20 years, supporting the growth and long-term value creation of domestic companies. Notable investment cases include ADT Caps, KB Financial Group, Kakao Mobility, Twosome Place, Hyundai Glovis, and KFC Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.