Government Employees Pension Service Publicly Recruiting New CIO to Manage Its KRW 10 trillion in Assets

The Government Employees Pension Service (GEPS) announced that it will publicly recruit a new Chief Investment Officer (CIO) to manage KRW 10 trillion of financial assets upon the expiration of the current CIO’s term. A GEPS spokesperson stated that the institution “will continue to achieve stable profits and maintain an efficient fund management policy while enhancing the expertise and diversity of our operational strategies.” GEPS has been working to enhance the rate of return through direct management of overseas stocks, investment in domestic dividend stocks, and strategic co-investment with overseas pension funds. GEPS has been recognized for its expansion of ESG investments that highlight social responsibility and its proactive investment in domestic value-up ETFs, earning an excellent rating in the recent 2024 fund management evaluation by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Applications for the CIO position will be accepted until May 12, and the final selected candidate will be appointed in early July after interviews in June.

Development of Mega-sized Office Building ‘ONE X’ in Central Seoul Underway

The large-scale office project ‘ONE X’ located in Seoul’s Central Business District (CBD) will begin construction. Yido Co., Ltd. received approval for the project implementation plan for the urban redevelopment project in the Cheonggye area from Jung-gu Office on April 25. Daewoo Engineering & Construction will manage the construction. ONE X will be developed with seven basement levels and 33 above-ground floors, covering a total area of approximately 172,100 square meters, and is expected to be the largest single office building in northern Seoul. Following the ‘class X’ concept, the building will be outfitted with various facilities including a multipurpose cultural space ‘Light Room’ and a global partnership private lounge designed by Daniel Libeskind, who designed the New York World Trade Center. This project, connects directly to Euljiro 3-ga Station and has a view of Cheonggyecheon Stream, is slated for completion in the first half of 2029.

Design Plan Finalized for 65-story Ultra High-rise in Seongsu Strategic Maintenance Zone 1

The design plan for the 65-story ultra high-rise in Seoul Seongsu Strategic Maintenance Zone 1 has been finalized. The design plan for the main building with a maximum height of 65 stories was approved with the support of 881 out of 1,131 members at the general meeting held on April 26, and the project will be promoted through future changes to the maintenance plan. Zone 1 is the main area of the four Seongsu Strategic Maintenance Zones. Zone 1 encompasses a plottage of approximately 160,000 pyeong in the Seongsu-dong 1-ga neighborhood. The area is being highlighted for its excellent location and symbolic meaning. The Seoul Metropolitan Government recently announced a maintenance plan that allows for buildings over 50 stories, raising expectations for high-rise development. Since the nearby Seongsu Zone 2 also has a limit of 65 stories, a distinct skyline is expected to form in Seongsu. The decision for the timing of the construction company selection was also determined on April 26. A construction company will be selected before the integrated review.

M Plus Asset Management Sale Unsuccessful, Military Mutual Aid Association to Hold Second Bidding in June

The sale of M Plus Asset Management, a subsidiary of the Military Mutual Aid Association, has fallen through due to the preferred bidder Cobalt Investment-VCM consortium’s failure to pay the performance bond. The Cobalt-VCM consortium attempted to acquire a 70% stake in M Plus Asset Management, but negotiations broke down due to delays in decisions from major corporate investors, preventing them from paying the performance bond. The Military Mutual Aid Association will hold another bidding in June in collaboration with the sales advisor Samil PwC. The bidding will include previously shortlisted candidates such as CTCORE, Whale Investment, and Keystone PE.