The firm has made a senior appointment to accelerate growth in South Korea. 

Phoenix Property Investors, a large private real estate manager in Asia Pacific, has appointed Kwanghyun (Tommy) Kim as managing director and head of South Korea.

Kim (pictured) is an industry expert with over 26 years of experience in real estate transactions and projects ranging from commercial, residential, logistics, hospitality and mixed-use residential properties, the firm said in a statement.

Prior to Phoenix, Kim was CEO of Hangang Asset Management. He also served as division head of global investment at Samsung SRA Asset Management and at Korea Telecom consulting for its real estate arm.

Earlier in his career, he was executive director at Panepinto Global Partners, a New Jersey-based real estate investor. He was also director of asset management at Penrose Group, a Washington, DC-based real estate developer.

Following Kim's appointment, Phoenix plans to hire additional team members and move to a new Seoul office location, One Grove, after construction is completed, the firm added.

"As investors continue to look for risk-adjusted returns, Tommy’s extensive local, international knowledge and relationships align perfectly with our shared goals to expand and invest in the strategically important South Korea market,” Phoenix’ CIO and co-founder, Sam Chu said.

“With South Korea ranked as one of the world’s top economies, I am confident in being able to identify the right investment opportunities for our investors,” Kim added.

Phoenix Property Investors, which primarily focuses on real estate opportunities in Japan, Australia, Korea and Hong Kong, manages over $14.7 billion of gross real estate assets.