Carmine Lekstutis
About Carmine Lekstutis
Carmine Lekstutis is the Chief Legal Officer (CLO) of The Korea Fund, Inc. (KF), serving since January 2021; his year of birth is 1980 . He is an Executive Director and Assistant General Counsel at JPMorgan Chase since February 2015, and previously served as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel from 2011 to February 2015 . As CLO, he oversees stockholder communications procedures—reviewing submissions and forwarding them to the Board either at the next meeting or sooner if necessary, with the designated mailing address at various times including 4 New York Plaza (2023), 277 Park Avenue (2024–2025) . Officers are not compensated by the Fund; the Manager (J.P. Morgan) pays compensation for personnel who serve as officers of the Fund .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Korea Fund, Inc. | Chief Legal Officer | Since Jan 2021 | Oversees stockholder communications per Board-adopted procedures; reviews and forwards communications to Directors |
| JPMorgan Chase | Vice President & Assistant General Counsel | 2011–Feb 2015 | — |
| JPMorgan Chase | Executive Director & Assistant General Counsel | Feb 2015–present | — |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan Chase | Executive Director & Assistant General Counsel | Feb 2015–present | Concurrent with CLO role at KF |
| JPMorgan Chase | Vice President & Assistant General Counsel | 2011–Feb 2015 | Preceded current ED/AGC role |
Fixed Compensation
Officers of KF (including the CLO) are not compensated by the Fund; compensation is paid by the Manager (J.P. Morgan). The Fund makes no direct payments to its officers .
| Component | KF disclosure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Not disclosed by KF; paid by Manager | Fund does not report officer salaries |
| Target bonus % | Not disclosed by KF; paid by Manager | Fund does not report incentive targets for officers |
| Actual bonus paid | Not disclosed by KF; paid by Manager | Fund does not report officer bonuses |
| Cash retainer from KF | None; Fund makes no direct payments to officers | Applies to all officers listed |
Performance Compensation
Not disclosed in KF filings. Officers’ compensation and performance metrics (e.g., revenue growth, EBITDA, TSR-based PSUs) are paid and governed by J.P. Morgan, not by the Fund .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | Aug 18, 2023 | Aug 15, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Carmine Lekstutis – KF shares owned | None | None |
| All Directors, nominee, and officers – group % ownership | <1% of outstanding shares | <1% of outstanding shares |
| Officers owning any KF shares | No officer owned shares | No officer owned shares |
Additional context:
- Stockholder communications to the Board are addressed to Carmine Lekstutis, CLO, at 4 New York Plaza (2023) and later 277 Park Avenue (2024–2025) .
- Major 5%+ holders include City of London Investment Group and affiliates, Lazard, OPERS, 1607 Capital Partners, and Allspring (ownership levels vary year to year) .
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Role | Chief Legal Officer |
| Start date | Since January 2021 |
| Tenure status | Officers hold office at the pleasure of the Board until successors are appointed/qualified or earlier resignation/removal |
| Compensation source | Paid by Manager (J.P. Morgan); Fund makes no direct payments to officers |
| Responsibilities tied to governance | Reviews stockholder communications and forwards to the Board under established procedures |
| Contract/Severance/Change-of-control | Not disclosed in KF filings; officers are Manager employees, not Fund-paid |
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Zero ownership of KF shares by officers (including CLO) indicates limited “skin-in-the-game” alignment at the Fund level; compensation and incentives are at J.P. Morgan, outside KF performance metrics .
- Retention risk: Employment and incentives are driven by J.P. Morgan; KF does not disclose employment contracts, severance, or change-of-control terms for officers, suggesting retention dynamics are primarily within J.P. Morgan’s corporate framework rather than Fund governance .
- Trading signals: With no officer share ownership, insider selling pressure or pledging risks tied to the CLO are immaterial; monitoring should focus on large outside holders that can influence discount/NAV dynamics (e.g., City of London Investment Group, Lazard) .
- Governance role: The CLO’s oversight of stockholder communications and proxy appointment as a voting proxy reflects operational trust but does not directly link to pay-for-performance at the Fund level .