This article was published on May 27, 2025, at 10:25 a.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Mirae Asset Global Investments has been holding a market share of around 0% in the real estate investment trust (REITs) sector for several years, and it has recently been confirmed that it is experiencing a series of departures among its dedicated personnel. Mirae Asset is urgently attempting to replenish its workforce, but there are industry assessments suggesting that its REIT business has hit a brake.
According to the financial investment industry on the 27th, Kim, a manager in charge of REIT operations at Mirae Asset, resigned earlier this month, reducing the number of specialized personnel within the company to five. Until early July last year, there were eight specialized operators in the REIT operation division, but three left for various reasons in just ten months.
A REIT is a product that issues shares to collect funds from investors and invests that money in real estate, then redistributes rental income or proceeds from sales as dividends. Unless it is a self-managed REIT, an asset management company (AMC) typically manages the assets held by the REIT and is responsible for actual operations, including leasing, sales, and revenue distribution.
Mirae Asset has been operating as an AMC for REITs since 2018. An AMC is required by law to have at least five full-time asset management professionals. If another specialized operator leaves Mirae Asset within 60 days after one has departed, its establishment approval may be revoked. This indicates that there is a halt in the operating company's REIT business.
Mirae Asset's AMC personnel are relatively fewer compared to other companies. The specialized personnel managing Hanwha REIT and NH Prime REIT, which is operated by NH Nonghyup REIT, have nine and eight personnel, respectively. Currently, Mirae Asset's REIT operation division has a total of six employees, and it is reported that they are conducting interviews for experienced candidates. Starting from the 23rd of this month, they are also separately hiring new recruits for the REIT operation division.
Mirae Asset began expanding its REIT business with the listing of Mirae Asset Maps REIT 1 in 2020. In 2021, it introduced the listing of Mirae Asset Global REIT, the first of its kind in Korea, based on foreign logistics centers, which recorded the highest subscription competition ratio in history at 753.4 to 1. According to the Korea REITs Association, the assets under management (AUM) of Mirae Asset REITs surged from 296.8 billion won at the end of 2020 to 554.4 billion won in just one year, and its market share increased from 0.5% to 0.7%.
However, in the subsequent three years, the market share remained stagnant. The deterioration of the REIT market due to interest rate hikes had an impact, but Mirae Asset's REIT market share decreased slightly to 0.6% in 2022 and remained unchanged until the end of last year. Last year's AUM of 614.1 billion won ranked 27th out of a total of 63 AMCs, falling five positions from 22nd in 2021.
Some believe that Mirae Asset's underperformance in the REIT sector and personnel departures are a result of losing expansion momentum after the failure to acquire the International Financial Center (IFC) in Yeouido, Seoul, in 2022.
At that time, Mirae Asset proposed a purchase price of 4.1 trillion won to the seller, Brookfield Asset Management in Canada, and sought to raise 700 billion won through Mirae Asset Sage REIT. However, the deal fell through as it did not receive operational approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Currently, Mirae Asset is in litigation with Brookfield over the return of a 200 billion won performance guarantee at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).
A relationship at a REIT management company stated, "Since Mirae Asset Global Investments was unable to acquire the IFC, there have been rumors that the REIT department is continuously problematic," and added, "Moreover, there is a reluctance to send underperforming employees to the REIT department."
Mirae Asset's two listed REITs have been operating without new investments for the past year. From the perspective of REIT operators, for whom the exploration of new assets and structuring experience is essential, such management-focused work may be a factor in turnover.
Mirae Asset Global Investments noted that while it is currently challenging to increase the REIT market share, it is exploring various avenues for attracting new investments. A representative from Mirae Asset stated, "There are ongoing efforts to attract REIT investments domestically and internationally, and we plan to make it visible in the second half of this year," adding, "The recent decrease in specialized personnel is not due to internal issues, but because managerial-level employees have been actively seeking new opportunities."