이 기사는 2021년 08월 20일 08시01분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

Affinity Equity Partners has scouted an attorney from Kim & Chang, the largest law firm in South Korea.

According to legal sources on Tuesday, Jung Wonil joined Affinity Equity Partners last month. Jung passed the state-run bar exam in 2010 and joined Kim & Chang, where he specialized in corporate governance, management disputes, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Although Jung will act as an in-house lawyer, holding executive director position, his role won’t be limited to simply reviewing internal legal issues. Jung will be responsible for reviewing legal issues related to portfolio companies invested in by Affinity Equity Partners, and reviewing shareholders agreement when making new investments.

“We have the Legal & Compliance team with two lawyers in Singapore, but we needed to add a local lawyer as we carry out many deals in Korea,” said an executive at Affinity Equity Partners. “To be exact, Jung has joined the Legal & Compliance in Singapore instead of joining Affinity’s Korea team.”

Affinity Equity Partners’ hiring of Jung is seen as laying the groundwork to continue its active investment activities in South Korea.

Affinity Equity Partners sold South Korea’s Oriental Brewery, or OB, to Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) in 2014, generating 4.8 trillion won ($4.08 billion) in profits. The PE firm pocketed 1.2 trillion won by selling Loen Entertainment to Kakao in 2016.

Affinity Equity Partners also invested in Shinsegae Group’s SSG.com and Shinhan Financial Group. In 2019, the PE firm bought a 60% stake in maintenance and repairs firm Serve One for 600 billion won.

Affinity Equity Partners completed a 900 billion won acquisition of H&Q Korea’s JobKorea in May. Most recently, the PE firm signed an agreement to acquire a 100% of South Korea’s second-largest food delivery platform Yogiyo for 800 billion won, jointly with GS Retail and Permira. (Reporting by Gyoung-tae Kim)