Samsung Life-backed Hayfin opens Seoul office

European asset manager targets Korean institutional capital, eyes more maritime investments

Hayfin Capital Management opened a Seoul office on Thursday to deepen ties with Korean institutional investors and expand its investments in the country, particularly in maritime finance.

The European alternative asset manager, which oversees 45 billion euros ($51 billion), has appointed Chris Choi, former head of private credit at UBS Asset Management, to lead the office. It manages nearly 1 billion euros on behalf of Korean investors.

“Hayfin has been investing on behalf of Korean investors for a number of years since 2016,” Risa Lipsky, global co-head of client coverage at Hayfin, said at a press conference in Seoul. “We are excited to announce that we will be able to better serve everyone locally with the opening of a dedicated office.”

The firm sees an opportunity to attract Korean pension funds and insurers seeking to diversify portfolios heavily weighted toward US private credit.

“For an institution that has already built meaningful US private credit exposure, as many Korean pension funds and insurers have, adding European exposure is a genuine diversification of underlying risk,” said Carlos Pla, Hayfin’s head of portfolio management.

Choi described Korea as one of Asia’s most developed institutional investment markets and said the local office would help Hayfin work more closely with investors.

Korea is also an investment destination for the firm. Hayfin said it has invested more than $1 billion in Korean shipyards, with its activity in the country currently concentrated in maritime finance.

“We have a unique network and are identifying investment opportunities, and we expect to play a larger role in the Korean market over time as we build more connections and deepen communication locally,” Choi said.

The Seoul opening follows a management buyout completed in February 2025. Samsung Life Insurance subsequently became a strategic minority shareholder in Hayfin, alongside Mubadala and AXA IM Prime.

Asked about the impact of Samsung Life’s investment, Lipsky said it was still early but that institutional investors were showing greater interest in Hayfin.

“The tone, the willingness or wanting to meet and discuss Hayfin’s platform has definitely picked up,” she said.