South Korea's institutional investor Military Mutual Aid Association said Monday its Chief Executive Kim Do-ho held a closed-door meeting with a batch of top officials at US-based private equity house Rhone Group, including former US national security adviser John Bolton, in its headquarters in Seoul.

Bolton, a former adviser to US President Donald Trump, attended the meeting as the senior adviser to the US private equity firm. He served the same position before joining the White House and has recently returned, officials said.

MMAA said the meeting was meant to forge a long-term partnership upon the request of Rhone Group, without elaborating on what was being discussed.

“The era of slow growth is pushing MMAA to a heightened global asset exposure to attain our investment goals,” Kim said in a statement.

“A partnership with Rhone Group will bring MMAA’s overseas investment capability to the next level.”

Also attending the meeting were Rhone Group co-founder Robert Agostinelli and managing director Patrick Mundt, as well as executives of MMAA including Chief Investment Officer Kim Jae-dong and the managing director in charge of alternative assets, Kwon Kee-sang.

As of end-2018, MMAA managed a total of 10.8 trillion won ($9.1 billion) in assets, with 46.6 percent invested in alternative assets. MMAA said it looks to increase its exposure to alternative assets, including private equity and property, by allocating some 60 percent to alternative asset classes for 2020.

Based in New York, Rhode Group has specialized in mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations, with some 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) in assets under management.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)