Korea Scientists & Engineers Mutual-Aid Association (SEMA)

Korea Scientists & Engineers Mutual-Aid Association (SEMA)

SEMA was established in 2002 as the mutual-aid association for Korea's technical workforce, securing retirement benefits for scientists and engineers from both public research institutes and private-sector firms. The plan pools contributions and manages a diversified multi-asset portfolio from its headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, home to the SEMA Tower, its flagship commercial property. SEMA's deployment strategy balances domestic Korean real estate with direct global co-investments and fund commitments. The fund owns Crystal Park, a commercial asset in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris, and has participated in the Aberdeen European Secondaries Property Fund of Funds to access European commercial property secondaries. Its marquee infrastructure position is a co-investment alongside Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) in Vertical Bridge Holdings, the largest private owner of wireless communications infrastructure in the United States. The venture program operates through a joint venture, SEMA-Translink Investment (SeTI), formed with Translink Capital to target early- through growth-stage technology companies in North America and Asia, giving the pension fund a structured pipeline into Silicon Valley deal flow. The fund's exact AUM is not publicly disclosed, but its real-asset holdings, co-investment access alongside CDPQ, and dedicated venture platform place it among the more active Korean institutional investors in overseas alternatives, with an estimated portfolio exceeding $5 billion. SEMA operates directly from its Gangnam headquarters without satellite offices, maintaining a lean team that relies on GP relationships like Translink Capital and co-investor networks for deal origination. A structural differentiator for SEMA is its population-specific mandate: unlike Korea's giant National Pension Service, SEMA serves a narrow, high-education subscriber base that informs a long-duration liability profile. This has translated into a willingness to pursue direct co-investments and niche secondaries strategies that other Korean institutional investors of similar scale often avoid, using vehicles like SeTI to bridge the gap between Korean institutional capital and Silicon Valley's venture ecosystem.