Kiwon Han Managing Director
The Global M&A Center team is headed by the Commissioner of Invest KOREA, Mr. Kiwon Han, who has led a distinguished 25-year career as an investment banking expert in Japan and Europe.
Mr. Kiwon Han joined the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) as the Commissioner of Invest KOREA in April of 2012. Prior to joining Invest KOREA, Mr. Han led a distinguished career as a financial expert in the field of investment banking in Japan and Europe.
Mr. Han joined Daiwa Securities Group Inc. in 1986. Since 1992, he has served as Daiwa Securities’ Global Head of ECM and Head of Investment Banking in Japan and Europe. In 2004, he was appointed the CEO and branch manager of Daiwa SMBC’s Seoul branch, in Korea.
Following that, he took the helm as Managing Director of DC Advisory Partners, a pan-European corporate finance house offering independent advice in mergers and acquisitions, debt raisings, restructuring and public offerings.
Throughout his 25-year career as a finance expert, Mr. Han has successfully executed a number of deals as the lead manager of more than 500 equity transactions out of Japan, Asia and Europe (public and private companies) and as the lead advisor in several cross-border M&A transactions.
Mr. Han earned his bachelor’s degree in political economics from Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.
Seungho Kim Director General
Seungho Kim transitioned as the Director General of Invest Korea’s Financial Industry Investment Promotion Team to the General Director of KOTRA’s new Global M&A Center in January 2013. He supervises all of the team’s activities.
Prior to joining the Financial Industry Investment Promotion Team he has worked in KOTRA’s business centers all over the world, including Japan, India and the United States.
Mr. Kim received his Master’s degree in International Economics from Korea University.
Mr. Kim can be reached at 191071@kotra.or.kr
Pilsung Kim Deputy Director
Mr. Pilsung Kim joined the Global M&A Center at its inception.
Previously, Mr. Kim served in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia.
Mr. Kim can be reached at pskim@kotra.or.kr.
DC Choi CAIA Senior Deputy Director
Mr. DC Choi is a key member of the new Global M&A Center, where he focuses on the private equity and venture capital industries, partnering Korean GPs with foreign LPs and Korean corporations with foreign investors.
Mr. Choi’s previous positions include Managing Director at Goodmorning Shinhan Securities Europe Limited in London, Head of International Business and Head of International Finance at Shinhan Investment Corporation in Seoul. He spent a large part of his earlier career in selling Korean equities for foreign institutional investors and has been involved in landmark underwriting deals of various KRX-listed companies.
Mr. Choi holds a BA in English Language and Literature from Kyunghee University. Mr. Choi can be reached at dcchoi@kotra.or.kr
Jiun Park KICPA Senior Deputy Director
Jiun Park has been with the Financial Industry Investment Promotion Team since 2010 and transitioned to the new Global M&A Center when it was established at the beginning of 2013. She applies her background in accounting and finance to sourcing and consulting Korean companies with the aim of matching them with foreign investors.
Prior to coming to KOTRA she spent 9 years at PricewaterhouseCooper member-firm Samil, where she specialized in corporate finance and M&As.
Ms. Park holds a BA in Business Administration from Yonsei University. Ms. Park can be reached at jiunpark@kotra.or.kr
Joseph J.Y. Lee Senior Deputy Director
Joseph J.Y. Lee has been with the Global Business Partnering Team since 2011 and transitioned to the new Global M&A Center when it was established at the beginning of 2013.
Mr. Lee has experience helping clients transform and turnaround business performance, successfully globalize and enter new growth sectors, create value from M&A transactions and perform industry analysis.
Prior to coming to KOTRA he worked at Planiom Consulting in New York, where he specialized in corporate finance and M&As.
Mr. Lee received his Master’s degree in Business Administration from New York Institute of Technology at Old Westbury in New York State.
Mr. Lee can be reached at jinylee@kotra.or.kr
Minkeun Kim KICPA Senior Deputy Director
Minkeun Kim joined the Global M&A Center in April of 2013.
Prior to coming to KOTRA he worked at PricewaterhouseCooper member-firm Samil, where he specialized in corporate finance and M&As. Mr. Kim has spent more than 10 years in corporate finance and M&As.
Mr. Kim can be reached at mkk@kotra.or.kr
Jay H.(Jung Hoon) Lee Senior Deputy Director
Jay H. Lee has newly joined the Global M&A Center in April 2013. He applies his background in Investment and Corporate Banking to advise and consult with Korean companies on cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
Prior to coming to the Global M&A Center, he spent 5 years at Korean investment and securities companies such as Hanwha Investment and Securities and 5 years at the Korean IT firm, LG display.
Mr. Lee holds a BA in English Language and Literature and an MBA from Seoul National University.
Mr. Lee can be reached at jaylee@kotra.or.kr
Min Ah Seo Senior Deputy Director
Minah Seo joined the Global M&A Center in April of 2013.
Prior to coming to KOTRA she spent 6 and half years at PricewaterhouseCooper member-firm Samil, where she specialized in corporate finance and M&As.
Ms. Seo holds a BA in Business Administration from Ewha University.
Ms. Seo can be reached at mahseo@kotra.or.kr
Jiyeong Son Assistant Director
Jiyoung Son has worked at KOTRA for the past three years, assisting Korean companies in their bids for international procurement, as well as with their foreign investment procedures.
Ms. Son can be reached at redi2grow@kotra.or.kr
Jennifer Nicole Wanninger Consultant
Jennifer Wanninger is a consultant for the Global M&A Center at KOTRA, where she manages and creates content for www.PrivateEquityKorea.com, assists in the planning and execution of events, as well as facilitates contact between Korean SMEs and international PE/VC investors.
Ms. Wanninger holds a BA in English Literature and Spanish Language from the University of California Berkeley and is currently enrolled in a Master’s program at the University of California San Diego.
Ms. Wanninger can be contacted at jwanninger@kotra.or.kr
Jeongsook Park Executive Assistant
Ms. Park joined the Global M&A Center in February 2013.
Ms. Park can be reached at suksook@kotra.or.kr
Hyunji Yi Intern
Ms. Yi joined the team in December 2012 and holds her BA in International Management from Ritsmeikan Asia Pacific University.
Ms. Yi can be reached at hyunjiyi@kotra.or.kr
Junsik Han Intern
Mr. Han joined the Global M&A Center team in January of this year. He is currently a business student at Yosei University.
Mr. Han can reached at junsig0218@kotra.or.kr
Jieung Kim Intern
Mr. Kim holds a Master’s degree in Management of Technology(MoT) from the William F. Miller School of MoT at Konkuk University.
Mr. Kim can be reached at kotraje@kotra.or.kr
