A Yonhap News Agency analysis found the estimated value of stakes of at least 5% held by South Korea’s National Pension Service in 287 listed firms fell 35.3% by Oct. 15, led by two chipmakers.
The review covered companies in which the NPS disclosed a stake of 5% or more on June 30, Oct. 15 or both. The positions’ estimated value fell from 515.93 trillion won to 333.53 trillion won, a decrease of 182.4 trillion won, or about $137 billion. The calculation covers those disclosed positions, not the fund’s overall return, and does not show that the NPS realized a loss.
The estimated value of the NPS stake in SK hynix fell about 74.2 trillion won, while the value of its Samsung Electronics stake decreased about 56.9 trillion won. Together, the two declines totaled 131.1 trillion won, or 71.8% of the overall drop. Shares in both companies fell during the period.
This was the first quarterly decline in the estimated value of these holdings since the fourth quarter of 2024. The decrease followed strong first-half results for the broader pension fund: the NPS reported a preliminary return of 27.22% through June, including a 107.37% return on domestic stocks. Its preliminary year-to-date return through July was 14.84%.
The opposition People Power Party has called for a parliamentary investigation into the NPS’s decision to defer portfolio rebalancing and raise its domestic-stock target. At an Oct. 14 parliamentary audit, NPS Chairman Kim Sung-joo said he believed the delay helped returns and argued that following the prior rules would have required large daily stock sales.
The valuation covers holdings through Oct. 15. On Monday, Oct. 19, South Korea’s Kospi recovered from an opening decline to close 1.76% higher, according to EconoTimes’ report on the benchmark’s rebound.
