Samsung Electronics, SK hynix alone account for 71.8% of losses
NPS raises stakes in GS Engineering & Construction, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance
Kosdaq holdings trimmed sharply
A sharp sell-off in South Korean equities has left the National Pension Service nursing losses of around 200 trillion won ($148 billion) in roughly 100 days, underscoring how the country's largest institutional investor failed to cushion the market against a wave of foreign selling — and took a heavy blow itself.
According to FnGuide, the combined market value of the 287 listed companies in which the National Pension Service holds stakes of 5 percent or more stood at an estimated 333.53 trillion won as of Thursday, based on disclosure filings as of June 30 and Oct. 15.
The same basket of stocks was valued at 515.93 trillion won at the end of June, meaning 182.4 trillion won — or 35.3 percent — evaporated in roughly three and a half months.
It marks the first quarter in which the pension fund's equity valuation has turned negative since the fourth quarter of 2024 — seven quarters ago — and the loss is the largest on record.
The fund had posted a record 189 trillion won gain in the period spanning the second quarter, from April 1 to July 6, only to give it all back within a single quarter.
The collapse in share prices at SK hynix and Samsung Electronics — long the top contributors to the fund's outsized gains — drove losses of 74.23 trillion won and 56.87 trillion won, respectively, for a combined shortfall of 131.1 trillion won, equal to 71.8 percent of the total loss.
Over the period, Samsung Electronics shares tumbled from 334,000 won to 210,000 won, while SK hynix fell from 2.65 million won to 1.26 million won. As of Thursday, the pension fund held stakes of 7.84 percent and 7.32 percent in the two companies, respectively.
SK Square posted a loss of 10.87 trillion won and Samsung Electro-Mechanics recorded a loss of 7.59 trillion won. In all, 176 of the 287 holdings ended the period in the red.
SK Innovation bucked the trend, raising its stake from 6.03 percent to 7.14 percent over the same period and booking a valuation gain of 904.1 billion won as its share price climbed from 94,900 won to 155,000 won.
S-Oil followed with a gain of 710.7 billion won, ahead of LG Energy Solution at 580.8 billion won and Hanwha Solutions at 434.7 billion won.
The number of holdings with stakes of 5 percent or more edged up from 270 at the end of the second quarter to 274 as of Thursday, a modest change.
Seventeen companies were newly added to the 5-percent-or-above threshold during the period, including Xi S&D at 9.31 percent, PharmaResearch at 7.94 percent, DN Automotive at 7.085 percent, Hanwha Solutions at 6.41 percent and Korea Zinc at 5.48 percent.
Conversely, 13 companies — including LG Display, Global Tax Free and Hans Biomed — fell below the 5 percent threshold through share sales or other reductions.
The fund raised its stake most aggressively in GS Engineering & Construction, from 7.82 percent to 12.88 percent, followed by Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance, from 9.42 percent to 12.37 percent, and Binggrae, from 6.47 percent to 9.37 percent. Hanwha, Korean Air and Naver also saw their stakes increase by 1.92 percentage points, 1.9 percentage points and 1.27 percentage points, respectively.
On the other side, the fund sharply cut its holdings in Paradise, from 12.33 percent to 8.39 percent, and Samsung Biologics, from 10.27 percent to 6.56 percent. Stakes in Mirae Asset Securities and Samsung Securities were each trimmed by more than 1 percentage point, to 6.19 percent and 12.15 percent, respectively.
Of the 84 companies in which the fund increased its stake, only seven were Kosdaq-listed firms — PharmaResearch, RF Materials and Doosan Tesna among them. Of the 82 companies where it reduced its stake, 21 were Kosdaq companies. The pattern suggests the fund bought heavily into Kosdaq stocks in the first half of the year, partly in response to government policies to revitalize the junior market, before selling them off in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, foreign investors were net sellers of 208.33 trillion won on South Korean exchanges from Jan. 2 through Friday. Over the same period, institutional and retail investors were net buyers of 40.13 trillion won and 101.06 trillion won, respectively.
jiyun@heraldcorp.com
