Apollo Opens Seoul Office, Names Jay Hyun Lee Head of Korea

Apollo Global Management is signaling its growth ambitions in South Korea with the opening of a Seoul office and the hiring of Jay Hyun Lee to oversee its operations in the country.

Lee is joining the New York-based alternative investment manager as a partner and head of Korea, with the executive taking responsibility for capital formation strategy, institutional relationships, and team growth in Asia’s fourth largest economy. Apollo pointed to the opportunity to provide a broad range of investment solutions, as well as to growing corporate demand for financing options, as factors behind its entry into the market.

“Korea is a leading financial hub where we see a tremendous opportunity to serve investors and retirees across the risk-return spectrum and meet businesses’ growing demand for flexible, creative capital solutions,” Scott Kleinman, co-president of Apollo Asset Management said in a release. “We are thrilled to welcome Jay Hyun as we continue to strengthen our presence across Asia Pacific and execute our global growth strategy.”

The Korea expansion comes after Apollo exited its Asian real estate equity strategy earlier this year to focus on real estate debt and special situations in the region. The fund manager also plans to grow its wealth management business in Asia Pacific, including in Korea.

25-Year Veteran

NYSE-listed Apollo, which acquired retirement solutions provider Athene in 2022, pointed to the opportunity to deliver yield-oriented income products to Korean investors, while working with the country’s pensions and insurers to generate excess returns.

“As we grow our franchise in Korea, we are excited to work alongside pensions, insurers and other institutions as a scaled provider of excess return,” said Apollo partner and head of Asia Pacific Matt Michelini. “We expect our reach will extend across the region’s retirement ecosystem, where we also aim to deliver yield-oriented solutions to individuals and savers seeking duration-matched income products.”

Lee has 25 years of financial services experience, having most recently served as senior executive vice president for Samsung Securities, where he led the integration and management of the firm’s M&A, securities underwriting and corporate investment functions.

Prior to Samsung Securities, Lee served as managing director and head of Korea in private equity and growth equity for Goldman Sachs. Earlier, he held roles as head of Korea investment banking for BNP Paribas and executive director of investment banking at Goldman Sachs in addition to having held roles at JP Morgan, KPMG Korea and Korea Long Term Credit Bank.

Lee holds a DBA from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and a bachelor of arts degree from Seoul National University.

“Apollo has an incredible platform delivering private capital and retirement solutions to clients globally and I am excited to lead their efforts on the ground in Korea,” Lee said. “I look forward to working with Matt and the team across Asia Pacific and the globe to build upon the strong momentum in the region.”

In addition to Lee, Apollo has appointed Sam Young Chung, professor at Yonsei University and head of economic think tank AIF’s Asia Pacific office, as an academic advisor.

Pushing Into Korea

Apollo joins a growing list of major financial institutions appointing senior leadership in Korea or opening new offices in the country this year.

Earlier this month, US investment titan BlackRock named former Morgan Stanley Investment Management executive Yoon Pyo Lee as managing director and head of Korea.

That appointment came a month after Texas-based developer and fund manager Hines opened a second Korean office in Jeonju to strengthen its partnership with Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS), which is headquartered in the city.

In July, GIC appointed Jasmine Loo as head of Korea real estate, with the Singapore sovereign fund having relocated Loo from London to Seoul for the role.

Earlier this year, Hong Kong-based private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners named Hyun-Chan Cho as managing director and head of Korea, with the former World Bank Group executive also taking on the role of head of infrastructure, while UK-based fund manager M&G Real Estate promoted former KKR executive Daniel Cho to head of Korea real estate.