Brookfield Asset Management press briefing

Cumulative AUM at 17 trillion won, with major expansion planned by 2030

Strengths in real estate, AI and power infrastructure

Park Jun-woo (left), head of Brookfield Korea, and Andrew Burych, head of real estate for East Asia. [Brookfield Asset Management]
Park Jun-woo (left), head of Brookfield Korea, and Andrew Burych, head of real estate for East Asia. [Brookfield Asset Management]

"Korea is held in very high regard at Brookfield's global strategy meetings. We plan to grow our investment here from the current 17 trillion won (approximately $11.2 billion) to 30 trillion won by 2030." — Park Jun-woo, head of Brookfield Korea

Global alternative asset manager Brookfield Asset Management has signaled a major push into the South Korean market. The firm identified power infrastructure, data centers driven by AI adoption, and semiconductor supply chain restructuring as its core investment opportunities, and said it plans to significantly expand its domestic investment footprint for years to come.

According to investment banking industry sources, Brookfield Asset Management held a press briefing at its IFC headquarters in Yeouido on June 1, outlining its Korea investment strategy and key portfolio holdings. Park Jun-woo, head of Brookfield Korea, and Catherine Woods, senior vice president for Asia-Pacific, attended in person. Andrew Burych, head of real estate for East Asia, joined remotely.

Brookfield Asset Management is a Canada-based global alternative investment firm managing more than $1.3 trillion (approximately 2,000 trillion won) in assets across more than 50 countries. It entered the South Korean market in 2014 and launched full-scale operations in 2016 with the acquisition of the Seoul International Finance Centre (IFC) in the Yeouido business district. Since then, the firm has built a domestic portfolio of approximately $13 billion (17 trillion won) in assets, focusing on real estate, infrastructure, and renewable energy and transition.

"Brookfield is a long-term partner that holds and operates real assets over extended periods to enhance their value," Park said. "We continue to invest in Korea with a focus on sectors with strong long-term growth potential, including semiconductors, industrial gases, data centers and renewable energy."

Brookfield invested in SK Air Plus (then SK Materials Air Plus) industrial gas facilities in 2022. From 2023, it has been designing, building and operating domestic data centers through its subsidiary DCI. In 2024, it entered the Korean energy market by acquiring the operating and development platform of Hanmaeum Energy. Last year, it invested 1.4 trillion won in SK Air Plus's industrial gas production facilities and carbon business division.

The investment expansion reflects Brookfield's distinctive long-term investment strategy. Park emphasized that unlike conventional private equity funds, Brookfield specializes in investments spanning more than a decade. "Brookfield pursues long-term partnerships with Korean companies from the perspective of a strategic investor," he said. "We continue to invest with a view to expanding businesses by combining the global capabilities and capital that Korean conglomerates and Brookfield each bring to the table."

Brookfield's investment philosophy is rooted in its history. Founded in 1899, the firm operated as a transportation and infrastructure provider for 120 years. It later launched an alternative investment management platform built on the accumulated expertise of buying and operating real assets — including infrastructure, energy and real estate. That history is the source of its identity as a long-term investor that directly manages physical assets to create value, rather than simply deploying capital as a financial investor.

Its expectations for the Korean market flow from the same strategy. "Korea presents many opportunities, not only in semiconductors but across advanced manufacturing, where Korean companies hold global competitiveness," Park said.

Brookfield has set up dedicated funds and signaled aggressive investment in response to surging demand for AI and power infrastructure. Last year, it announced a 150 trillion won "AI program" in partnership with Nvidia. It also completed fundraising for its 30 trillion won Global Transition Fund 2, aimed at renewable energy investment. The firm believes the simultaneous advance of AI adoption and supply chain restructuring is expanding investment opportunities in the physical infrastructure sector, where Brookfield holds particular strength.

"AI and power are both indispensable investment areas — you cannot choose one over the other," Park said. "Brookfield will continue its strategic investments around three megatrend keywords: digitalization, decarbonization and deglobalization."

Brookfield also expressed optimism about the Korean real estate market. "Brookfield currently has $40 billion invested across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, with plans to expand that to $100 billion over the long term," Burych said. "Rising construction costs are constraining new supply, while growing logistics demand and changes in housing regulation are creating significant opportunities."

Brookfield said it plans to transfer its first Korean investment portfolio — the IFC asset — into a continuation fund, reaffirming its long-term investment stance. The firm acquired IFC Mall and three IFC office towers in Yeouido for approximately 2.5 trillion won in 2016. It also acquired the Incheon Cheongna Logistics Center for 800 billion won in 2023 and sold it for 1 trillion won last year.


park.jiyeong@heraldcorp.com