Due to heavy investments in Samsung and SK Hynix, South Korea's largest pension fund suffered a loss of over 130 billion dollars

According to data recently released by financial data provider FnGuide, as of October 15, the total estimated value of shares held by the National Pension Service (NPS) in 287 listed companies with a holding ratio of 5% or more has shrunk from 515.93 trillion Korean won at the end of June to 333.53 trillion Korean won, a decrease of approximately 182 trillion Korean won, equivalent to about 13.7 billion USD.

The shrinkage is mainly related to the fund's heavy holdings in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. The market value of SK Hynix held by NPS has evaporated by approximately 74.2 trillion Korean won, while the market value of Samsung Electronics has decreased by 56.9 trillion Korean won, with these two stocks accounting for about 72% of the total decline in market value.

NPS is the largest pension fund in South Korea, managing assets worth 1866 trillion Korean won, approximately 1.35 trillion USD, as of the end of June. The investment return rate in the first half of this year reached 27.2%, the best level for the same period since 2022, but the market reversed in just a few months, marking the first quarterly decline in market value for its core heavy holdings since the fourth quarter of 2024.

NPS has long listed Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as its top two domestic stock holdings, maintaining a holding ratio of over 7%. In May of this year, the fund's operating committee also raised the year-end target allocation for Korean stocks. After reaching a peak in June, stock prices quickly corrected, and by mid-October, SK Hynix had fallen more than 50% from its peak, while Samsung Electronics had retreated about 40%.

The concentrated sell-off by foreign investors has been the direct driver of the decline, with the two companies accounting for nearly 80% of the total net selling by foreign investors. Market discrepancies regarding AI storage prosperity, advancements in Chinese storage technology, and the high volatility of individual stock leveraged ETFs have also amplified the declines. The KOSPI index in South Korea reached a historical closing high of 9114.55 points on June 22, but had fallen by about 39% as of October 15. During this period, NPS's holding ratio of SK Hynix shares decreased from 7.5% to 7.32%, while the holding ratio of Samsung Electronics remained at 7.84%.

Bank of America’s research report on October 16 suggests that the valuation of storage stocks may have bottomed out after about three and a half months of adjustment, and that storage chip prices and profits are still expected to remain high from 2027 to 2028. There are also views warning that if global AI companies cut capital expenditures, there may still be room for downward adjustments in the earnings expectations of the two companies. As of now, NPS has not made a formal response regarding the significant shrinkage in market value of its holdings.