Asia | May 26, 2017

Impact Finance Korea to bring private capital to social spending gap

ImpactAlpha
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ImpactAlpha

South Korea is getting its first big taste of impact investing.

Former deputy prime minister and finance minister Lee Hun Jai is launching a private impact investing firm to raise 200 billion won ($179 million) to focus on small businesses and low-income entrepreneurs.

Impact Finance Korea aims to raise $63 million this year. Lee, who resigned from government in 2005, says this year’s public budget of $115 billion for healthcare, employment and other social issues does not fully address the country’s needs.

Private finance in South Korea continues to be strictly profit-driven. Lee’s goal is to “prove that the economy and society can become more stable through pioneering [a] new financial sector that funds work for the society.”