VIG, Mirae Asset selected to manage KRW 300 billion for Military Mutual Aid Association [fn Market Watch]

[Financial News] VIG Partners, Mirae Asset Venture Investment and others have been selected to manage KRW 300 billion for the Military Mutual Aid Association. Affirma Capital, J& Private Equity, Ark & Partners and KL&N Partners, which made the shortlist of qualified candidates to manage the Science and Technology Mutual Aid Association's 2026 domestic private equity blind funds, were also selected. The Military Mutual Aid Association reduced the amount of capital committed and raised the bar, but a large number of major firms still flocked to the process.
According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 15th, the Military Mutual Aid Association selected J& PE, Ark & Partners, Affirma Capital, Woori PE, Inius PE, VIG Partners, Keystone PE and KL&N Partners to manage this year's domestic private equity (PE) blind funds. The total commitment is reportedly KRW 200 billion, with KRW 20 billion to KRW 30 billion allocated per fund.
For its venture capital (VC) blind funds, it selected Mirae Asset Venture Investment, IMM Investment, Aju IB, Almus Investment, Wonik Investment Partners, LB Investment, Partners Investment Co., Ltd., Premier Partners, SBVA and KB Securities-EcoPro Partners. A total of KRW 100 billion will be committed, with around KRW 10 billion per fund.
Selectivity is seen as the defining feature of this year's capital commitment program. PE commitments fell by KRW 140 billion, from KRW 340 billion last year to KRW 200 billion, while the number of selected general partners (GPs) was cut from 10 to eight. Commitments per manager also fell from KRW 30 billion–KRW 40 billion to KRW 20 billion–KRW 30 billion.
The Military Mutual Aid Association raised the entry bar for this blind-fund commitment program, but the competition ratio was 2.5 to 1. A new requirement that managers have experience managing at least one blind fund of the same type within the past five years effectively made it difficult for new firms raising their first blind fund to enter. Applications were also restricted for managers that had drawn down 60% or less of the committed capital in existing funds, as well as those that had received an institutional warning or more severe sanction within the past three years.
The Military Mutual Aid Association also launched a PE co-investment fund of around KRW 210 billion with KB Asset Management. The association will commit KRW 200 billion, and 70% or more of the committed amount will be co-invested in domestic PE deals pursued by GPs previously backed by the association. It has expanded co-investments, which allow it to review individual deals before deploying capital, while reducing regular commitments to blind funds.
The Military Mutual Aid Association also has ample resources for investment. Its total assets stood at KRW 24.9433 trillion at the end of June, an average annual increase of 16% since 2022. First-half operating profit was KRW 663.8 billion and net income was KRW 343.1 billion, up 22.6% and 52.9%, respectively, from the same period a year earlier. The overseas share of its investment assets also grew from 43.6% at the end of last year to 50.3% in the first half of this year.
The Military Mutual Aid Association is selectively investing in infrastructure such as data centers and renewable energy, as well as high-quality commercial real estate, while also pursuing corporate finance for companies in AI, biotech and healthcare.
The Science and Technology Mutual Aid Association plans to allocate KRW 60 billion to large-fund managers and KRW 200 billion to mid-sized and smaller managers for this year's domestic private equity mandates.
An IB industry source said, "With the amount of capital committed shrinking, competition is increasingly concentrated among mid-sized and large firms with proven track records."
[email protected] Kang Gu-gwi Reporter