'I have never experienced government instructions passing through unchanged'

National Pension Service Chairman Kim Sung-joo delivers a briefing at the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee national audit on Wednesday. [Yonhap]
National Pension Service Chairman Kim Sung-joo delivers a briefing at the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee national audit on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

National Pension Service Chairman Kim Sung-joo said Wednesday that the fund's decision to suspend portfolio rebalancing was driven by an optimistic view of the domestic stock market, adding that there would have been no objection to the suspension given market conditions in January and May.

Kim made the remarks at the National Pension Service national audit held by the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, saying he had "never experienced government instructions passing through unchanged."

The comments came in response to criticism from People Power Party lawmaker Lee Dal-hee, who said the national pension fund "is not a stock market support fund for the government" and that "no one would consider the NPS chairman independent from political power when he responds to a single word from the president by changing investment guidelines."

Meanwhile, before the audit began, People Power Party lawmaker Baek Jong-heon, who leads his party's side on the committee, called for the release of meeting minutes. He noted that the fund management committee had voted in January to suspend rebalancing but had also resolved to keep the minutes sealed until 2030, while adding that under the National Pension Act the minutes could be submitted if the relevant standing committee of the National Assembly requested them.

In response, Kim said the rule governing the release of meeting minutes "was a law created during the Park Geun-hye administration," drawing groans from opposition lawmakers.


thlee@heraldcorp.com