VIG Partners bolsters leadership with two senior hires

VIG Partners, a South Korean private equity fund manager, announced Friday that it has hired Yoo Shin-hyuk as deputy managing director and Kang Sung-wook as operating principal.

Alongside the senior hires, the firm plans to expand the roles of existing staff and reinforce its mid- and junior-level ranks, strengthening a team-based management structure that covers the full investment cycle — from deal sourcing through portfolio value creation.

Yoo, who joins the investment team, brings more than 18 years of mergers and acquisitions advisory and corporate strategy experience gained at Deutsche Bank, Valtec, Roland Berger and Boston Consulting Group. At BCG in particular, he focused on M&A advisory and participated in major domestic and cross-border transactions across industry analysis, strategy formulation and value creation. At VIG Partners, he will take on a central role in investment review and portfolio management.

Three managing directors who have been with VIG Partners for more than a decade — Kang Ki-jung, Kim Gyu-myung and Bae Jong-hyun — will also see their responsibilities expanded, joining Chief Executive Shin Chang-hoon and Yoo in leading the investment team. The firm has also reinforced its mid- and junior-level ranks with hires including Son Deok-su, a KAIST graduate who previously founded a startup and worked at McKinsey, deepening its capabilities in industry analysis and value creation.

Kang Sung-wook, brought on to strengthen portfolio operations and overseas expansion, is a seasoned executive with roughly 40 years of experience. He previously served as president of GE Healthcare Asia Pacific, president of GE Korea and president of Cisco Systems Asia Pacific, leading multinational operations and cross-border M&A. Based in Singapore, Kang will identify overseas investment opportunities for VIG Partners and support portfolio companies' international expansion, while working with management to drive operational efficiency and systematic value creation.

"With the addition of Yoo Shin-hyuk and Kang Sung-wook, our leadership has grown considerably stronger on both the investment and operations fronts," Chief Executive Shin said. "Through expanding the roles of our existing team and bringing in outside talent, we will solidify a management structure that delivers results through the collective strength of the team, not any single individual."

VIG Partners is actively deploying capital through its fifth fund. The firm recently signed a share purchase agreement to acquire Yulgok, a domestic aircraft parts manufacturer, and once that deal closes, the fifth fund is expected to reach a deployment rate of approximately 80 percent. Building on the organizational reinforcement, VIG Partners plans to focus on deploying the fund's remaining capital while preparing to raise its sixth blind fund.

Founded in 2005, VIG Partners is one of South Korea's leading private equity fund managers, focusing on buyout investments in mid-sized Korean companies. The firm has successfully exited investments including Tongyang Life Insurance, BC Card, Burger King Korea, Bodyfriend and Foodist, and continues to pursue value creation across a diverse portfolio spanning consumer goods, retail, healthcare and lifestyle sectors.