Carlyle Group has appointed Icksoo Jung as managing director and head of Korea for its Asia buyout platform as it steps up investment activity in the country.
Jung joins from Affinity Equity Partners, where he spent 15 years leading investments across sectors including financial services, e-commerce, fintech, and automotive. He previously held roles at TPG Capital in Hong Kong and Citigroup in New York. Based in Seoul, he will lead sourcing and execution of buyout opportunities in South Korea.
Carlyle also named John Kim as chairman of Korea for Carlyle Asia Partners, where he will focus on senior relationships and portfolio oversight.
“Korea is an important market, underpinned by economic dynamism and proactive government policies that are helping to drive improvements in corporate governance and shareholder value,” said XD Yang, Chairman of Carlyle Asia.
“We also believe that evolving generational attitudes toward corporate ownership and succession planning will continue to broaden the range of private equity investment opportunities in the market,” he added.
The appointments underscore Carlyle’s continued focus on Korea, where it has invested more than $4 billion over the past two decades. Notable investments in Korea include ADT Caps, KB Financial Group, Kakao Mobility, A Twosome Place, Hyundai Glovis, and KFC Korea.
