London-based shipbroker Howe Robinson Partners has boosted its Asian reach with a recruit in South Korea.
The UK shop has added sale-and-purchase specialist Gu Yoon from Clarksons in the capital, Seoul.
Carsten Roennau, Howe Robinson’s managing partner of sale and purchase, said he was excited to announce the hire.
He added that Gu, the new managing director in Seoul, would be “headlining” the office.
“I am convinced that with his diverse background in shipbroking and shipbuilding, he will be a great addition to our team,” Roennau said.
He said that Gu would bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will help the brokerage improve and expand its presence in the Korean market and Asia-Pacific region.
Gu has spent the past four years as an S&P broker at Clarksons’ South Korean base.
Before that, he was at shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for seven years, rising to associate manager in the vessel & offshore marketing division.
His stint with the yard group included time in its Athens office.
Gu started out as a lieutenant junior grade in the South Korean Navy.
Other broking shops looking to grow their Korean business have made fresh efforts to establish new offices in Seoul over the past year or two.
Braemar opened an office in the capital in June that focused initially on dry cargo and container shipping with plans for further growth.
In August, Braemar hired S&P broker David Oh, who joined the new office from local shipbroker Jangsoo Shipping, which was founded by his father.
SSY opened an office in Seoul in January last year that will focus on S&P business and will be headed by partner Toby English and regional director Jun Seo.
Other hires
Last week, Clarksons said it was expanding its deepsea tanker operations into Brazil after announcing a significant new hire.
The London-listed group set up a desk under the leadership of “seasoned market expert” Bruna Carvalho de Lima, Petrobras’ head of spot chartering.
Earlier that month, Clarksons had recruited BRS shipbroker Christopher Talhaug Rasmussen.
The Norwegian has joined the company as a senior broker on the newbuilding desk.
He had been a partner at BRS in Geneva since 2019, having joined in 2014 to handle its newbuilding business.
