John Kim joined Western Asset Management as client service executive, focused on South Korean institutions and other countries in the region.
The role is new, said a spokeswoman.
Mr. Kim is based in Singapore and reports to Michael Dale, Western's head of client service and marketing, Asia-Pacific.
Western had $448 billion in assets under management as of March 31.
Mr. Kim was head of BlackRock's institutional business in Korea, the Western spokeswoman confirmed. A BlackRock spokesman could not be reached for comment.
