Korea's National Pension Fund Loses 182 Trillion Won on Domestic Stocks in Third Quarter
SEOUL — South Korea's National Pension Service (NPS) lost more than 182 trillion won on its domestic stock holdings in the third quarter, as the country's equity market swung through a period of extreme volatility. The combined value of the 287 listed companies in which the NPS holds stakes of 5 percent or more and discloses its holdings fell by 182.3963 trillion won in about three months, according to data from financial information provider FnGuide released on October 18. The value dropped 35.3 percent, from 515.9293 trillion won on June 30 to 333.533 trillion won as of October 15 — the first quarterly decline since the fourth quarter of 2024 and the largest paper loss on record.
The decline was concentrated in large-cap semiconductor stocks. The value of the fund's SK hynix holdings fell by 74.2261 trillion won and its Samsung Electronics holdings by 56.871 trillion won, a combined 131.0971 trillion won. Over the period, Samsung Electronics shares fell from 334,000 won to 210,000 won, while SK hynix slid from 2.65 million won to 1.262 million won. As of October 15, the NPS held a 7.84 percent stake in Samsung Electronics and a 7.32 percent stake in SK hynix.
The scale of the losses is likely to intensify political criticism of the fund's decision to suspend rebalancing of its domestic equity portfolio, the Seoul Economic Daily said. (GSM, based on Seoul Economic Daily reporting and FnGuide data)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 韩国国会议事堂。National Assembly Building, Seoul. Photo by AnbyG, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
