South Korea's National Pension Fund Recorded Record Returns Last Year, Boosted by Surge in Korean Stocks

Glonghui, February 27｜One of the world’s largest public pension funds, Korea’s National Pension Service, recorded its best annual return ever in 2025, driven by a surge in semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related stocks. By the end of 2025, the fund managed assets totaling 1,458 trillion won (approximately $1.02 trillion), with an annual return rate of 18.82%, marking a record high for the third consecutive year. This surpassed the previous high of 15% set a year earlier and is the best performance since its establishment in 1988. The National Pension Service’s domestic equity portfolio led the gains, soaring by 82.44%, while overseas equity returns were 19.74%. Last month, the National Pension Service readjusted its 2026 asset allocation, raising its target allocation for domestic stocks amid a sharp rise in Korea’s KOSPI index. The fund also decided to reduce the originally planned scale of overseas stock reductions by about $20 billion.