Company News | FOREST PARTNERS

Third year since establishment…Held as a portfolio of promising growth companies Forest Partners is regarded as a house with a distinctive track record. Upon its establishment in 2016, it attracted industry attention by successfully raising a 15 billion KRW blind fund. As a newly established private equity fund (PEF) manager, it is rare in that it has been conducting both venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) investments, and has mainly focused its investment activities on companies between ventures and growth-stage firms. By investing in promising companies such as Jeju Beer, a craft beer company; FADU, a semiconductor SSD controller developer; and Aero K, a low-cost airline, both sectors have posted remarkable investment performance. Its network is solid, with major domestic large and mid-sized companies, overseas investors, domestic hedge fund managers, and media outlets participating as key limited partners (LPs). In its third year since establishment, it has begun raising a second blind fund, and starting next year, it is also expected to begin exiting investments with high returns. fr|om Lawyer to Investor…The “personal doctor” for troubled companies draws attention At the heart of this brilliant achievement is Han Seung, CEO of Forest Partners, who possesses an entrepreneurial spirit and a gambler’s temperament. CEO Han graduated fr|om the University of Michigan’s Department of Economics and the University of Washington Law School, and has worked in investment for six years in places such as Wall Street and Silicon Valley. Originally aspiring to be a lawyer, CEO Han stepped into the investment world under the influence of former Tiger Asia Fund CEO Bill Hwang. While attending the University of Washington Law School, after meeting former CEO Bill Hwang, he felt the appeal of being an investor and reinvented himself as an investor rather than a lawyer. His only financial industry experience was a one-year stint at the accounting firm Samjong KPMG before entering law school, but he jumped directly into the field rather than following the traditional Wall Street entry path through investment banking (IB) and similar roles. In 2011, he served as a director at Crane Partners, a private equity firm headquartered in New York, and the following year he moved to BRV Capital Management, a venture capital firm. BlueRun Ventures, the parent company of BRV Capital, is known as the first institutional investor to invest in the U.S. fintech company PayPal. Last year, BRV Capital made its name known in Korea by investing 1 trillion won in “Sseuk.com,” a new e-commerce subsidiary of the Shinsegae Group, together with Affinity Equity Partners, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm. He also played a strong role as the “personal doctor” while managing a failing company. While serving as an executive director at BRV Capital, he also took on the role of CEO at VISIONSCAPE, a portfolio company of BlueRun Ventures. When VisionScape’s insolvency caused other investors to withdraw and the stake rose to 80%, BlueRun Ventures put Han forward as a savior. Armed with an entrepreneurial spirit, he led Vizenscape for four years, providing startup product development and marketing services. After painstaking effort, VisionScape transformed into a solid company generating 20 billion won in sales and an operating profit of 1.5 to 2 billion won. CEO Han said, “It was extremely difficult, but it was an opportunity to overcome my own limitations,” adding, “It was a valuable experience that gave me entrepreneurial experience and my own insights.” The CEO explained that over the past six years, they have successfully closed 30 investments in places such as New York and Silicon Valley, and that their post-exit investment returns also exceed the market average. Deal sourcing and LP networks draw attention…Ambitions for Next Year as the “Year of Leap Forward” In 2016, Han partnered with Lee Jin-sang (currently CEO of Reference Partners), who was in charge of structured finance at SC Bank at the time, and founded Forest Partners. CEO Han said, “We aim to be a company that invests before and after growth companies,” adding, “Our goal is to become the previous investor with an entrepreneurial vision that has a wild edge.” Relying on its characteristic gambler’s instinct and extensive personal network, it decided to launch a blind fund immediately after its establishment. My first move was a breakfast meeting to recruit investors. They successfully raised investment funds by inviting about 30 prominent domestic figures, including CEOs of major domestic conglomerates and mid-sized companies, heads of domestic hedge fund managers, major foundations, and media outlets. Bill Hwang, former leader and mentor to CEO Han, was also listed as an LP participant. Forest Partners has raised a VC blind fund totaling 25 billion won and has invested in 12 companies to date. Jeju Beer, Pado, CleanTech company LiquCarbon, and the online global trade brokerage platform Tridge are among the representative investment targets. The growth trend of companies in the investment portfolio is frightening. Jeju Beer’s sales last year reached 7.5 billion won, increasing by more than 400% compared to the previous year. Last month, it achieved another leap forward by focusing on exports to Southeast Asia, including India, Taiwan, and Thailand. With diversified sales channels, this year’s sales are expected to exceed 15 billion won. At the end of last year, Pado secured external investment, and its corporate value roughly doubled during the investment period. Once the contract with a global IT company, scheduled for the second half of this year, is finalized, full-scale sales are expected to begin next year. Blind Fund No. 1 is expected to see an exit case starting next year. The PE division invested in Aero K and J Contentree, a subsidiary of JoongAng Ilbo. They acquired 40 billion won worth of exchangeable bonds (EB) issued by J Contentree, and earlier this year invested 3 billion won in Aero K Air, a low-cost carrier based at Cheongju International Airport. Forest Partners has four other investment personnel in addition to CEO Han. Executive Director Jung Won-jun joined Forest after serving as Deputy General Manager at Guardian Partners and as Director at Samjong KPMG. Director Yoo Dong-yeol has worked closely with CEO Han for a long time. Served as CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) at VisionScape and as a department head at BRV Capital. Deputy General Manager Shin Dong-seon has experience as an analyst at AT Kearney and as a manager at Korea Investment & Securities, while Deputy General Manager Song Ho-young previously worked as an analyst at AT Kearney. Forest Partners is preparing for a second leap forward starting next year. We are preparing Blind Fund No. 2, valued at 50 billion won, and are also considering spinning off the venture capital firm in the mid to long term. A Forest representative said, "Once the recruitment for Blind Fund No. 2 is complete, we are considering separating the venture capital division," adding, "To that end, we plan to recruit additional external experts."

fr|om craft beer and low-cost airlines to multiplex theaters and semiconductor equipment companies. These are companies discovered firsthand by Han Seung (41), CEO of Forest Partners, a private equity fund (PEF) management firm. Han’s recognition of its potential and initial investment, which planted the “seed,” makes one look forward to abundant “fruits.” Han Seung, CEO of Forest Partners, is being interviewed by JoongAng Ilbo at his office in Samseong-dong, Seoul. Reporter Kim Kyung-rok Jeju Beer is experiencing rapid growth as last year’s sales (12 billion won, including tax revenue) increased by more than 400% compared to the previous year. Aero K, a low-cost airline based at Cheongju Airport in Chungbuk, has received approval fr|om the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and is preparing to launch flights in January next year. In a recent interview with JoongAng Ilbo, CEO Han said, “At first, both Jeju Beer and Aero K were told, ‘It won’t work.’ But after going to the sites myself, I realized that such advice was not helpful at all, but rather only hindered things.” He added, “One of our company’s strengths is having close real-time discussions with investors who have entrusted us with money out of affection for startups.” The current domestic stock investment market is in the "golden age of private equity funds." The total net assets of private equity funds, which stood at 200 trillion won at the end of 2015, surpassed 350 trillion won last month. In particular, providing seed money to promising small and venture companies, increasing their corporate value, and then listing them on the stock market to generate high returns is called the “flower of investment.” A CEO in his early 40s is a young CEO attracting attention in the industry. He said, “In Korea, when people hear ‘private equity fund,’ they may see it as a ‘corporate raider.’ But investing in startups, growing companies, and creating jobs is something to be proud of.” Han Seung, CEO of Forest Partners, is posing at his office in Samseong-dong, Seoul. Reporter Kim Kyung-rok After graduating fr|om the University of Washington School of Law and gaining investment experience on Wall Street and Silicon Valley, CEO Han founded Forest Partners in 2016. He said, “I was influenced by my life mentor, former Tiger Asia Fund CEO Bill Hwang, and developed a desire to be an investor rather than a lawyer. While my experience handling large sums of money in the United States was valuable, I chose independence because I wanted to build my own investment philosophy and culture.” CEO Han’s investment decisions do not discriminate by industry. In 2017, it also acquired 40 billion won worth of exchangeable bonds (EB) convertible into Megabox shares. The condition is that if they are listed on the stock market by 2021, they will earn capital gains fr|om the price difference, and if not, they will receive their principal and interest. Padura, a company co-invested with the SK Group, developed the core component of computer storage devices, the SSD (controller). CEO Han said, “Pado is currently being tested in the U.S. market with a prototype that is about twice as good in performance as other semiconductor companies,” adding, “Our long-term goal is to grow it into a ‘unicorn’ with a corporate valuation exceeding 1 trillion won and list it on the U.S. Nasdaq market.” Reporters Joo Jeong-wan and Jeong Yong-hwan

Domestic private equity firm Forest Partners has identified the battery foundry company JR Energy Solutions as a new investment target. Despite the impact of the electric vehicle chasm (temporary demand slowdown), attention was drawn to the bank’s move to diversify its portfolio into non-electric vehicle sectors such as ESS, defense, urban air mobility (UAM), and drones, as well as JR Energy Solutions’ growth potential. According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 15th, Forest Partners has decided to acquire about 10 billion won of the 20 billion won convertible bonds (CB) issued by JR Energy Solutions. JR Energy Solution is the world’s first specialized battery electrode foundry (contract manufacturer) that applies the semiconductor industry’s fabless–foundry divisional model to secondary batteries. Since its establishment in December 2022, the company has secured strategic investors (SIs) such as Korea & Company and Eugene Technology, attracting a cumulative investment of about 100 billion KRW in a short period and growing rapidly. Building on its expertise in electrode manufacturing, JR Energy Solutions has expanded its scope to include cell assembly, module, and pack production, thereby establishing capabilities for manufacturing customized batteries for customers. Currently, it serves 25 cathode material companies and 19 anode material companies as customers, and produces 47 types of cathode active materials and 35 types of anode active materials. It is regarded as leading the domestic battery foundry market by leveraging its multi-product, small-lot production capabilities that can handle a wide variety of materials and specifications, as well as meet the customized chip requirements of more than a thousand fabless customers worldwide, as Taiwan’s TSMC does.

This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 1:21 p.m. on Dec. 19, 2025. Private equity fund (PEF) manager Forest Partners will combine its venture capital (VC) subsidiaries into one. About four months after acquiring mid-sized VC UTC Investment in Aug., it decided to integrate the assets and staff of UTC Investment and the existing Forest Ventures. The change-of-control approval and capital payment, seen as variables, have also been partially completed. According to the investment banking (IB) industry and Forest Partners on the 19th, Forest Ventures and UTC Investment decided to hold their respective board meetings next week to approve a merger of the two companies. UTC Investment is expected to remain as the surviving entity in an "absorption-type merger" that takes over Forest Ventures' funds and other assets and personnel. The two companies are said to have largely completed pre-merger procedures, including calculating the merger ratio and obtaining consent fr|om existing fund limited partners (LPs). When the merger is completed, the Forest Ventures entity will be dissolved, but the operating track record and investment portfolio, including FADU and More, are expected to be succeeded and transferred intact to UTC Investment. The merger of Forest Ventures and UTC Investment had already been planned when Forest Partners acquired UTC Investment in Aug. The goal was to strengthen venture investment competitiveness by combining the capabilities of UTC Investment, centered on institutional policy funds, with those of the existing privately driven VC (Forest Ventures). In practice, Forest Ventures, in which Forest Partners holds 67% equity, has been managed mainly with overseas LPs and private capital without policy fund commitments. By contrast, at UTC Investment, more than half—5,000 billion won out of about 8000 billion won in total assets under management (AUM)—consisted of policy funds such as the Fund of Funds and Growth Finance.   On Dec. 9, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) gave final approval to the change of controlling shareholder registration for UTC Investment, the biggest hurdle to the merger. The MSS reviewed the registration requirements for a venture investment company—such as capital of at least 2 billion won and at least two professionals—ordered stronger internal control rules, and then gave final approval for the change of controlling shareholder registration at UTC Investment. It also helped that Forest Partners duly completed the first payment of the acquisition price early this month. The integrated entity of Forest Ventures and UTC Investment is expected to emerge as a large VC with about 1 trillion won in AUM. Forest Partners has set a policy to complete the VC integration in the first half of next year and has finished the chemical integration by reorganizing into three divisions—VC, bio, and growth capital. An industry official in the VC sector said, "Starting with next week's board meetings, Forest Ventures appears poised to leap into a major VC that combines the aggressiveness of a young house with the stability of a mid-sized VC," adding, "It is also positive that most of UTC Investment's investment professionals chose to stay, ensuring continuity in investment and operations." Meanwhile, concerns over Forest Partners' acquisition funding have eased as TreatG, an agricultural product transaction platform considered a risk factor, is also seen to have overcome a crisis. Recent new fundraising is said to be progressing smoothly, with some funds secured. Some observers also say TreatG could turn a profit in the first quarter of next year.

Private equity fund (PEF) management firm Forest Partners is acquiring the venture capital (VC) firm UTC Investment. According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 30th, Forest Partners recently signed a stock purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire 100% of UTC Investment's equity. All the equity owned by Clinical Min, the vice president of the Daesang Group, is subject to the transaction, but the size of the deal has not been disclosed. UTC Investment is considered a leading mid-sized VC in Korea with assets under management (AUM) of approximately 800 billion won. Established in 1988 as Samseung Investment Consulting, it became a subsidiary of the Daesang Group when Honorary Chairman Im Chang-wook acquired it with personal funds in 1996. Since then, Honorary Chairman Im transferred all his equity in UTC Investment to Vice President Im in 2016, making Vice President Im the largest single shareholder.   In the meantime, the Daesang Group has been supporting the growth of UTC Investment as an investor in its venture funds, but it is reported that they decided to proceed with this sale considering further expansion in the venture investment market. Forest Partners is expected to strengthen its venture investment institutional sector based on the acquisition of UTC Investment. Forest Partners, a PEF management firm established by CEO Han Seung in 2016, formerly of BRV Capital Management, has also increased its presence in the venture investment market by investing in deep tech startups like FADU.