National Pension Fund Achieves Record First-Half Returns of 27.22%

South Korea's National Pension Fund has announced a remarkable first-half investment performance, achieving a provisional return of 27.22% as of June. This figure represents the highest semi-annual performance in the fund's history, significantly outpacing the 4.08% return from the same period last year.

The stellar results were largely propelled by the domestic stock market, which saw an impressive return of 107.37%. This surge is attributed to the robust performance of companies, especially within the semiconductor sector. Overseas stocks also contributed positively, yielding 17.81%, fueled by the ongoing artificial intelligence investment cycle and sustained strength in technology stocks.

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In the first half, we were able to achieve stable performance thanks to the favorable trends in domestic and international stock markets.

Other asset classes demonstrated varied performance. Alternative investments yielded 9.60%, and overseas bonds returned 9.22%. However, domestic bonds experienced a decline of -3.00%. This dip in domestic bonds is linked to rising interest rates, a consequence of the U.S. Federal Reserve maintaining its benchmark rate and other central banks continuing their tightening policies. While the strengthening won-dollar exchange rate boosted overseas bond returns, rising interest rates negatively impacted the valuation of domestic bonds.

Kim Sung-joo, Chairman of the National Pension Fund, attributed the strong performance to favorable conditions in both domestic and international stock markets during the first half. He affirmed the fund's commitment to generating long-term, stable returns through rigorous risk management and diversified investment strategies to maintain high performance throughout the year.

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We will do our best to achieve high performance again this year by generating long-term and stable returns through thorough risk management and diversified investments.