Simon Crinage
About Simon Crinage
Simon J. Crinage (born 1965) serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Korea Fund, Inc. and has held this role since January 2021 . He is Head of J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s closed‑end fund business and has been an employee of J.P. Morgan since 1984 . Prior to KF, he was both Director and President of JPMorgan China Region Fund, Inc. until its liquidation in 2017 and President of The Taiwan Fund, Inc. between 2014 and 2019 . The Fund’s proxies disclose that officers are compensated by the Manager (J.P. Morgan) and not by the Fund, and that as of the most recent record dates, no officer (including Mr. Crinage) owned shares of KF—implications for alignment and selling pressure are noted below .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPMorgan China Region Fund, Inc. (NYSE: JFC) | Director and President | Until 2017 | Led listed Asia-focused closed-end fund through to liquidation; relevant governance and CEF lifecycle experience . |
| The Taiwan Fund, Inc. (NYSE: TWN) | President | 2014–2019 | Oversight of a single-country closed-end fund; execution across portfolio and shareholder program dynamics . |
| J.P. Morgan Asset Management | Employee | Since 1984 | Deep tenure in asset management; institutional scale processes and controls . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| J.P. Morgan Asset Management | Head, Closed-End Fund Business | Current | Oversees JPMAM’s closed-end fund platform; relevant to KF operations and governance liaison . |
Fixed Compensation
The Fund does not pay or disclose cash compensation for executive officers; they are paid by the Manager (J.P. Morgan).
| Pay Element (Fund level) | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Fund-paid officer compensation | $0 (Fund makes no direct payments to officers) | $0 (Fund makes no direct payments to officers) |
The Manager supervises the Fund’s investments and pays compensation and expenses of personnel who serve as officers; the Fund makes no direct payments to its officers .
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Type (Fund level) | Structure/Metric | FY 2024 Payout | FY 2025 Payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fund-paid bonus/equity/PSUs/Options for officers | Not applicable at Fund level; officers’ compensation is paid by J.P. Morgan and not disclosed in the Fund proxy . | N/A | N/A |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | 2024 (as of Aug 16, 2024) | 2025 (as of Aug 15, 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| KF shares owned by officers (including Simon Crinage) | None; “no officer of the Fund owned shares” | None; “no officer of the Fund owned shares” |
| Directors/nominee and officers as a group | <1% of outstanding shares | <1% of outstanding shares |
- Implications: No officer ownership reduces immediate insider selling pressure but may limit direct equity alignment at the Fund level; note that directors (not officers) report dollar ranges of ownership, while officers report none .
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Role start date | Since January 2021 |
| Term/tenure construct | Officers hold office at the pleasure of the Board and until successors are appointed and qualified or earlier resignation/removal |
| Employer of record / compensation payer | J.P. Morgan (Manager) pays officer compensation and expenses; the Fund makes no direct payments to officers |
| Non-compete, severance, change-in-control, clawback, tax gross-ups | Not disclosed in the Fund’s proxies for officers |
Key Governance/Shareholder Actions During Crinage’s Tenure
| Action | Date | Terms/Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Tender Offer (commencement) | Aug 16, 2024 | To purchase up to 12.5% of outstanding shares at 98.5% of NAV per share; commenced Aug 16, 2024; share repurchase program temporarily suspended during offer window . |
| Tender Offer (final results) | Sep 19, 2024 | Oversubscribed; purchased 604,144 shares (12.5% of outstanding) at $26.42 (98.5% of NAV) with pro‑ration factor 18.901%; outstanding post‑tender 4,229,009 shares . |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance transparency: Officer pay is not set or paid by KF and is not disclosed in KF’s proxies; that limits direct pay-for-performance analysis at the Fund level, as compensation decisions occur at J.P. Morgan .
- Alignment: As of 2024 and 2025 record dates, officers—including the CEO—held no KF shares, reducing insider selling pressure but also weakening direct alignment via Fund equity; directors, not officers, report ownership ranges .
- Governance actions during tenure: The oversubscribed 2024 tender offer at 98.5% of NAV (12.5% of shares repurchased) is a tangible step to address discount and return capital, a shareholder-friendly lever that can be supportive for NAV discount management and per‑share value metrics .
- Retention/contract risk: Officers serve at the pleasure of the Board and are J.P. Morgan employees; KF does not disclose officer employment agreements, severance, or change‑in‑control terms—governance and continuity hinge on the Manager’s personnel and incentive structures rather than Fund-level contracts .