According to financial provider FnGuide, the National Pension Service of South Korea (NPS) saw the value of its holdings fall by 182 trillion won, or ≈$137 billion, over a few months as shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix declined.
Decline in the value of the fund’s holdings
The value of the NPS’s stakes of 5% in 287 public companies stood at 333.53 trillion won as of 15 October, whereas at the end of June that figure was 515.93 trillion won. This marked the first quarterly drop in the value of such assets for the fund since the fourth quarter of 2024.
The NPS finished the first half of 2026 with a return of 27.2% — the best performance at least since 2022. As of the end of June, the fund was managing 1,866 trillion won, or approximately $1.35 trillion.
Samsung and SK Hynix’s contribution to overall losses
The largest share of the decline came from chipmakers: the fund’s holding in SK Hynix fell by about 74.2 trillion won, and in Samsung Electronics by 56.9 trillion won. Together these two companies accounted for about 72% of the total portfolio decline.
The NPS stake in SK Hynix decreased from 7.5% to 7.32%, while the Samsung Electronics holding remained unchanged at 7.84%. The Kospi index, after a record close of 9,114.55 points on 22 June, had fallen by roughly 39% by 15 October.
Fund decisions and political reaction
In May the NPS raised its target allocation to South Korean equities for the year-end and reduced its planned allocation to foreign equities, increasing the fund’s exposure to the domestic market. The market decline and the heavy concentration of investments in chipmakers have provoked a political debate.
The opposition People Power Party criticised the NPS for not supporting the market during the sell-off and said that the suspension of rebalancing allegedly limited the fund’s ability to buy shares during the downturn. For Ukrainian readers, volatility in the chip markets can influence the exchange rate, consumer electronics prices, exports and the labour market.
