TPG Hires Sanghoon Lee From Morgan Stanley for South Korea Push

(Bloomberg) -- TPG Capital hired Sanghoon Lee from Morgan Stanley as a partner to find and manage investments in South Korea, more than eight years after the private equity firm’s last major deal in the nation.

Lee was managing director and Korea head for Morgan Stanley’s private equity division, TPG said in a statement Tuesday.

Global private equity firms have in the past struggled in South Korea, with Lone Star Funds entangled in legal cases for years after a public backlash over its profits on an investment in Korea Exchange Bank in 2003. TPG exited its investment in broadband-access provider Hanarotelecom Inc. in 2007.

Lee is one of six people appointed by TPG this year in Asia, including Joel Thickins, who will join as Australia country head in October, according to the release.

CVC Capital Partners appointed Steve Lim -- formerly of JPMorgan Chase & Co. -- as Korea chairman last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cathy Chan in Hong Kong at kchan14@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Marcus Wright at mwright115@bloomberg.net, Paul Panckhurst, Darren Boey