[Person人] Ha Young-gu Returns as Chairman of Blackstone Korea, the World's Largest PEF

Blackstone Returns to Korea After 7 Years... A Preview of a Large-Scale M&A

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] Ha Young-gu, a veteran in the domestic financial sector and former chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks, is returning as chairman of Blackstone Korea, the world’s largest private equity fund (PEF) management firm. Ha has been appointed as chairman of Blackstone, which is re-entering the Korean market after seven years. Blackstone Korea is expected to officially open around May next year.

Chairman Ha is a financial expert with 37 years of experience in the banking industry. He has served as president of Hanmi Bank and Citibank Korea, a member of the Financial Reform Council, and chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks. He joined the foreign bank Citibank in 1981 and was appointed president of Hanmi Bank at the age of 48 in 2001, earning the title of the youngest bank president. He was reappointed as bank president five times until 2014. Known by the nickname “career banker,” he is well-versed in finance and has extensive connections with high-ranking officials in politics and business. Having started his banking career at Citibank, he possesses exceptional international financial acumen.

He is regarded as an international expert in Korean finance, recognized even on Wall Street in the United States. During national crises, Ha’s global network has proven influential. He is credited with helping to prevent a second foreign exchange crisis by facilitating the currency swap agreement between Korea and the U.S. during the 2008 global financial crisis. From 2004 to 2014, while serving as president of Citibank Korea, he built a network with the U.S. that enabled the meeting between then-Minister of Strategy and Finance Kang Man-soo and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin in October 2008. Shortly after this meeting, a $30 billion Korea-U.S. currency swap agreement was signed, a well-known episode.

37 Years in Banking Industry
Youngest Hanmi Bank President at 48
Contributed to 2008 Korea-U.S. Currency Swap
Comprehensive Investments Including Corporate Real Estate
Industry Sees This as a Prelude to Mega M&A

The return of this financial heavyweight, coupled with the re-entry of a mega investment bank (IB) into the Korean market, has put the domestic IB industry on alert. The industry views the partnership between Blackstone and Chairman Ha as a prelude to large-scale mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Currently, except for a few firms like MBK Partners, few domestic IB firms can handle trillion-won scale M&A deals.

Blackstone Korea is expected to engage in diverse investments, including corporate investments and real estate infrastructure. Chairman Ha plans to leverage his extensive domestic and international networks to comprehensively support Blackstone’s Korean operations. Blackstone intends to consolidate its Korean-focused personnel, currently scattered across Hong Kong, Singapore, and other locations, into Korea to strengthen its business.

As of July last year, Blackstone manages assets worth $684 billion (approximately 812 trillion KRW), making it the world’s largest PEF management firm. It holds a diverse portfolio including PEF, real estate, credit, and hedge funds. Although Blackstone previously opened a Korean office, it withdrew in 2014 due to intense competition with domestic PEFs. In recent years, Blackstone’s activities in Korea have been relatively subdued, with Hong Kong serving as its regional base and Korea mainly under management.

Meanwhile, Chairman Ha was born in 1953 in Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do. He graduated from Gyeonggi High School and Seoul National University with a degree in Trade, and earned an MBA from Northwestern University. He joined the foreign bank Citibank in 1981 and held positions such as senior dealer in the treasury department, general manager of treasury, head of investment banking division, and head of consumer finance group. He served as president of Hanmi Bank from May 2001 to March 2004, and as president of Citibank Korea from November 2004 to October 2014. From 2014 to 2017, he served as the 12th chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks.