(Newsis)
(Newsis)

South Korea’s National Pension Service saw the value of its domestic equity holdings nearly triple over the past year, with more than half of the gains concentrated in two tech giants — Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

According to data released Tuesday by Leaders Index, which analyzed 267 listed firms in which the NPS holds stakes of at least 5 percent, the pension fund’s equity holdings rose to 353.3 trillion won ($240 billion) as of April 10, from 129.2 trillion won at the end of 2024.

The increase of 224.2 trillion won, or 173.6 percent, was driven largely by gains in semiconductor stocks.

Holdings in Samsung Electronics rose in value from 23 trillion won to 94.8 trillion won, more than quadrupling, while its stake increased slightly from 7.3 percent to 7.8 percent.

The value of NPS holdings in SK hynix jumped more than sixfold, from 9.6 trillion won to 58.9 trillion won, with its stake rising from 7.6 percent to 8.1 percent.

Combined, the two companies accounted for 121.2 trillion won in gains, or about 54 percent of the total increase.

Overall, the pension fund’s average ownership ratio across the companies edged up to 7.50 percent from 7.33 percent over the same period.

By sector, steel recorded the fastest growth in valuation. The number of steel companies in which the NPS holds stakes above 5 percent rose from six to nine, while the value of those holdings increased more than fivefold to 2.8 trillion won, driven by gains in companies such as Korea Zinc and Hyundai Steel.

Holdings in securities firms also expanded sharply, more than tripling to 7.1 trillion won from 1.6 trillion won, while shipbuilding and defense-related stocks rose 2.3 times to 31.7 trillion won.

The number of companies in which the NPS holds stakes exceeding 10 percent increased to 39 from 38 at the end of 2024. Of those, 20 maintained double-digit ownership, while 19 newly crossed the 10 percent threshold.

Major holdings include Hansol Chemical, Shinhan Financial Group, KB Financial Group, POSCO Holdings, Naver and Hana Financial Group.


jylee@heraldcorp.com