A man visits the counseling center at the National Pension Service's Seoul Northern Regional Headquarters in Seodaemun District, western Seoul, on Sept. 4, 2024.YONHAP
Korea's National Pension Service (NPS) added nearly 190 trillion won ($126 billion) in paper gains to its domestic stock portfolio in the second quarter as the Kospi extended its rally to a record high above 9,000.
The pension fund's holdings in 270 listed companies in which it owns at least a 5 percent stake were valued at 486 trillion won as of Monday, up 189.6 trillion won from 296.4 trillion won at the end of March, according to market tracker FnGuide on Wednesday.
The increase marked the largest quarterly gain on record. The portfolio generated a return of 63.9 percent during the second quarter, nearly double the 32 percent return posted in the first quarter.
Chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix accounted for 79.8 percent of the portfolio's value increase.
The value of the NPS's SK hynix holdings jumped by 82.1 trillion won, even though its stake remained unchanged at 7.50 percent.
The value of its Samsung stake climbed by 69.2 trillion won after the pension fund increased its ownership slightly to 7.84 percent from 7.75 percent.
Samsung Electronics flag, left, and SK hynix's Icheon headquarters in GyeonggiYONHAP
As a result, the two chipmakers' combined share of the NPS's domestic equity portfolio grew from 40.4 percent at the end of March to 55.7 percent as of Monday.
SK Square recorded the third-largest increase in valuation, up 12 trillion won, followed by Samsung Electro-Mechanics, whose holdings gained 10.4 trillion won despite the NPS trimming its stake to 9.95 percent from 10.46 percent.
The value of the pension fund's holdings also increased in Samsung C&T, Samsung Life Insurance and SK.
Naver headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on Nov. 27, 2025YONHAP
Mirae Asset Securities recorded the largest decline, with the value of the NPS's holdings falling by 1.07 trillion won. The value of the NPS’s holdings also fell by 573.7 billion won in LG Energy Solution, 451.0 billion won in Hanwha Systems, 447.0 billion won in Kakao and 415.3 billion won in Naver.
During the second quarter, the NPS added 19 companies, such as Simmtech and SK eternix, to the service’s list of holdings with ownership stakes of at least 5 percent.
Meanwhile, the pension service’s stakes in 21 companies, such as LX Semicon and Hanatour, fell below the 5 percent disclosure threshold.
The NPS increased its stake the most in BH, raising its ownership to 13.35 percent from 7.47 percent, followed by construction company DL E&C, where the NPS increased its stake to 11.44 percent from 8.06 percent.
An attendee passes by a display of LG evo W6 Wallpaper televisions at the LG Electronics booth during CES 2026 in Las Vegas on Jan. 7.REUTERS/YONHAP
NPS reduced its holdings in LG to 6.42 percent from 9.19 percent, SK Chemicals to 6.51 percent from 8.50 percent.
The pension’s stake in electronic materials company Daejoo Electronic Materials fell to 7.66 percent from 9.98 percent, and in VINATech fell to 5.12 percent from 8.68 percent.
Market attention is now on whether the NPS will step up stock sales after its temporary suspension of domestic equity rebalancing ended in late June. The fund is expected to resume adjusting its portfolio toward its target allocation this month.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [lee.jiwon10@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
