New asset management firm launched by ex-chief of KOFIA

The former chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA) has returned to the financial industry by establishing an asset management firm.

The company, named, I Trust Asset Management, was set up in December and recently started sales activities. Hwang Young-key, the former chairman of KOFIA, will serve as the first chairman of the new asset management firm.

Hwang is considered a financial mogul here, having worked as a member of the top management at some of Korea’s leading banking and securities firms. His previous positions include the chairman of both KB Financial Group and Woori Financial Group.

He also served as a president at Samsung Securities in early 2000. Starting in the late 1980s, he worked for Samsung Group and its key affiliates — such as Samsung Electronics and Samsung Life Insurance — for a decade.

In February 2015, he became the third leader of KOFIA in recognition of his decades-long experience in the asset management market.

I Trust Asset Management shared its plans to focus on alternative investments — such as real estate project financing or pre-initial public offering stake investment — to offer stable returns to investors.

Hwang was recently rumored to have been offered the position of chairman of state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), thanks to his broad experience in the asset management market here. But he is known to have turned down the offer, citing his new role as the leader of the asset management company. Reports said that he “expressed no interest in the position” due to the new tasks he has recently taken up.

This is not the first time that Hwang has been mentioned as a candidate for the chairmanship of KDB. Back in 2008, he was also considered one of the candidates for the position with his expertise in investment banking.

Hwang studied international trade at Seoul National University and worked for three years as the chairman of KOFIA beginning in 2015. He then moved back to the private sector with the launch of the asset management firm.