What stage does MBK Partners invest at?

MBK Partners invests at the Growth, Late Stage stages.

Where is MBK Partners located?

MBK Partners is headquartered in Seoul, KR.

Does MBK Partners lead rounds?

Yes, MBK Partners leads investment rounds.

MBK Partners

Private equityoperating company · company profile

Seoul · Growth–Late Stage · 29 people tracked

Also known as Mbk Management, Inc. · MBK Partners K.K.

★ Follow + Add to CRM ⤳ Find an introduction

Find your way into MBK Partners

Paths you didn't know you had: your email and LinkedIn already hold routes to the MBK Partners team. We find them for you
2nd- and 3rd-degree connections: the friend-of-a-friend routes that take hours to manually find through your inbox or LinkedIn
Answers now, not in days: momentum is everything in a raise. Skip asking around whether someone knows someone

Days of research, done the moment you sign in, with every route ranked by how warm it is.

✨ Fox Verdict

Investment thesis

MBK Partners operates as North Asia's largest independent private equity firm, concentrating exclusively on the Korean, Japanese and Chinese markets. It leverages deep regional insight, local relationships and multinational experience to source, execute and manage investments. Its core strategy centers on management-led buyouts, partnering with company leadership on strategy, capital structure optimization, corporate governance and growth. A separate Special Situations strategy provides customized capital solutions with equity-like returns and structured downside protection to companies with limited access to capital. The firm targets industry-leading companies across telecom/media, financial services, consumer/retail, healthcare and other sectors to build long-term value for investors.

Invests inConsumer Fintech Healthtech Media & Entertainment Retail TechSector AgnosticAsia-Pacific China Hong Kong Hong Kong Japan Seoul South Korea

Source: firm website, verified Sep 29, 2026.

Leave your own feedback

Stage

Growth–Late Stage

Seoul, KR

Leads rounds

Leads

Instruments

Equity · Debt

Founded

2005

AUM

$33B

Tracked investments

Team · 29 people

from the firm's website

Michael B. Kim· Partner, Founder· Hong Kong, Seoul

Founder and Partner of MBK Partners, which he helped establish in 2005. Previously President of Carlyle Asia Partners and an executive at Salomon Smith Barney and Goldman Sachs; active in numerous philanthropic and academic institutions.

Bryan Byungsuk Min· Partner, Chief Operating Officer· Hong Kong

Partner and COO based in Hong Kong, previously at Olympus Capital Holdings Asia and UBS Capital Asia Pacific.

Daisuke Ikeda· Partner· Tokyo

Partner in Tokyo who was previously a principal at MKS Partners and worked at Gracchus & Associates and Mizuho Bank. Serves on the board of Tasaki.

Hongfei Yu· Partner· Shanghaiin

Partner in Shanghai, previously a Vice President at Morgan Stanley investment banking and earlier at HSBC. Serves on the board of Car Inc.

Hyosung Christie Tang· Partner, General Counsel· Seoul

Partner and General Counsel in Seoul, previously special counsel at Covington & Burling in Seoul and earlier at international law firms in New York and Hong Kong.

In Kyung Lee· Partner, Chief Financial Officer· Seoulin

Partner, CFO and head of LP Relations based in Seoul. Previously CFO at Morgan Stanley Properties in Seoul and a CPA at Arthur Andersen.

Jay H. Bu· Partner· Seoul

Partner in Seoul who previously headed the telecom & media practice at Carlyle Asia Partners and worked on Korean M&A at Salomon Smith Barney. Serves on the boards of Megazone Cloud and BHC.

Jeonghwan Kim· Partner· Seoulin

Partner in Seoul who was previously a consultant at Bain & Company. Serves on the boards of Golfzon County, Homeplus, Korea Center and MH&Co.

Jong-Ha James Yoon· Partner· Seoulin

Partner based in Korea, previously co-head of Korea for Carlyle Asia Partners and a managing director at KPMG. Holds a PhD in economics and sits on several portfolio boards.

Joo Ho Moon· Partner, Head of Korea for Special Situations· Seoul

Partner and Head of Korea for Special Situations in Seoul, previously a partner at H&Q Korea and earlier at JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. Serves on the board of K Bank.

Ken Kagasa· Partner· Tokyo

Partner in Tokyo, previously a Vice President at Goldman Sachs Japan and earlier at Asahi Bank. Sits on several boards including Tasaki, Kuroda Group and Godiva Japan.

Kwang Il Kim· Partner· Seoul

Partner in Seoul, previously a senior M&A lawyer and partner at Kim & Chang and earlier a CPA at Samil PwC. Sits on multiple portfolio boards including NEPA and Homeplus.

Stephen Le· Partner· Hong Kong

Partner in Hong Kong, previously Co-head of Deutsche Bank's Asia Pacific Credit Division and a member of its Global Credit Executive Committee; earlier at Goldman Sachs.

Tetsuya Kaneko· Partner· Tokyo

Partner in Tokyo who was previously a Vice President at Goldman Sachs Japan. Serves on the boards of Tasaki, Kuroda Group and Godiva Japan.

Yon Sog Choi· Partner· Seoulin

Partner in Seoul who was previously an associate at JPMorgan in New York. Serves on the boards of Dongjin Textile and Nexflex.

Byungok Na· Managing Director· Seoulin

Managing Director in Seoul who was previously a business analyst at McKinsey & Company.

Jackie Ho· Managing Director· Hong Kongin

Managing Director in Hong Kong who was previously a fixed income portfolio manager at Credit Suisse and a senior analyst at Asia Research Capital Management.

James Kong· Managing Director· Shanghaiin

Managing Director in Shanghai, previously an associate director at Standard Chartered Private Equity and earlier at Citigroup investment banking.

Jason Liu· Managing Director, Head of China for Special Situations· Beijingin

Managing Director and Head of China for Special Situations based in Beijing, previously at Deutsche Bank leading Greater China structured products origination and earlier at JP Morgan.

Jonathan Cheng· Managing Director, Head of Trading· Hong Kongin

Managing Director and Head of Trading in Hong Kong, previously Head of Trading for Taconic Capital and earlier at Credit Suisse.

Jun Xu· Managing Director· Shanghai

Managing Director in Shanghai, previously a Vice President at Ally Bridge Group and earlier at Booz Allen Hamilton. Serves on the board of Car Inc.

Junho Chun· Managing Director· Seoul

Managing Director in Seoul with prior finance and accounting roles at Hudson Advisors Korea, PwC and KPMG. He is a CFA charterholder.

Lei Han· Managing Director· Shanghaiin

Managing Director in Shanghai, previously a director at CITIC Capital and consultant at A.T. Kearney. Serves on the boards of Haihean and eHi.

Mavis Chang· Managing Director· Hong Kongin

Managing Director in Hong Kong with prior controller and management roles at Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs and KPMG. She is a chartered certified accountant.

Seikyu Hong· Managing Director, Head of Communications· Seoul

Managing Director and Head of Communications in Seoul, with earlier roles at Weber Shandwick Korea and Edelman Public Relations Worldwide Korea.

Shelby Yu· Managing Director· Shanghai

Managing Director in Shanghai, previously an associate at Morgan Stanley investment banking and a consultant at Oliver Wyman.

Tamon Nonaka· Managing Director, Head of Japan for Special Situations· Tokyoin

Managing Director and Head of Japan for Special Situations in Tokyo, previously a principal at Advantage Partners and earlier at Elliott Advisors, Goldman Sachs and KPMG.

Shinichi Mochida· Operating Partner· Tokyoin

Operating Partner in Tokyo, previously a director at AlixPartners with earlier roles at Shiseido, Culture Convenience Club, A.T. Kearney and Procter & Gamble.

Youngsoo Cha· Operating Partner· Seoul

Operating Partner in Seoul who was previously CEO of Samsung Futures and held executive roles across various Samsung companies. Sits on several portfolio boards including Homeplus and Lotte Card.

Investments · 1 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

CARmbkpartners.com

MBK Partners is a private equity and investment firm based in Asia with offices across Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing.

Sector AgnosticSeoul, KR

Michael B. Kim(Partner and Founder)

Fund performance · per public LP disclosures · 4

as of Jun 2025

Fund	Vintage	Committed	Net IRR	TVPI	DPI
MBK Partners Fund VILPs: California Public Employees' Retirement System, California State Teachers' Retirement System, Florida State Board of Administration +1 more	2024	—	—	0.81x	0.00x
MBK Partners Fund V, L.P.LPs: California State Teachers' Retirement System, Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association, New Jersey Division of Investment +4 more	2019	—	9.5%	1.26x	0.03x
MBK Partners Fund IV, L.P.LPs: Oregon Public Employees Retirement System, California State Teachers' Retirement System, Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association +3 more	2017	—	9.2%	1.56x	0.42x
MBK Partners Fund III, L.P.LPs: Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association, Maryland State Retirement and Pension System	2013	—	10.0%	1.56x	1.53x

Source: public limited-partner disclosures (CalPERS, CalSTRS). Net IRR / TVPI / DPI as reported by the limited partner; a fund's early-year IRR is an interim estimate (J-curve).

Frequently asked questions

What stage does MBK Partners invest at?: MBK Partners invests at the Growth, Late Stage stages.
What sectors does MBK Partners focus on?: MBK Partners focuses on Consumer, Fintech, Healthtech, Media & Entertainment, Retail Tech, Sector Agnostic.
Where is MBK Partners located?: MBK Partners is headquartered in Seoul, KR.
Does MBK Partners lead rounds?: Yes, MBK Partners leads investment rounds.

Images

Similar investors

Norwest Venture Partners

Norwest is a venture capital and growth equity investment firm that has backed over 700 companies across technology, consumer, and healthcare over its 65-year history.

$10M – $30M

Bombora

Bombora manages a portfolio of actively managed high-growth pre-IPO and listed equities, partnering with management teams of rapidly growing businesses to provide capital and expertise.

Third Eye Capital

Third Eye Capital is a financing partner that provides capital along with business-building skills, operational expertise, and networks to support the growth of its portfolio companies.

Innova Capital Sp. z o.o.

Innova Capital is an independent private equity firm founded in 1994 in Poland, focused on acquiring controlling stakes in mid-sized companies across the CEE region.

$27M – $44M

Southern Cross Group

Southern Cross Group is a Latin American private equity firm that partners with management teams to create value across a diversified portfolio in the region.