South Korea’s National Pension Service reported a sharp increase in the value of its domestic equity holdings in the fourth quarter, driven largely by a surge in shares of semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
According to data from market research firm FnGuide, the market value of stocks held by the pension fund in publicly disclosed listed companies rose to approximately $197 billion as of early January. That marks an increase of about $52 billion, or roughly 35%, from the end of the third quarter.
The gain reflects a strong rally in large-cap semiconductor stocks, which account for a substantial portion of the fund’s domestic equity portfolio.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix alone contributed nearly $35 billion of the increase, representing more than two-thirds of the total quarterly gain.
Samsung Electronics’ valuation within the pension fund’s portfolio rose by roughly $19 billion during the quarter, while SK Hynix added about $16 billion. The fund’s ownership stakes in both companies remained largely unchanged, indicating that the gains were driven primarily by share-price appreciation rather than additional purchases.
Samsung Electronics shares surged nearly 64% during the fourth quarter, supported by a sharp earnings rebound. The company became the first South Korean firm to report quarterly operating profit exceeding approximately $15 billion, based on preliminary results.
SK Hynix shares more than doubled over the same period, climbing about 106%, as demand for high-bandwidth memory chips used in artificial intelligence workloads continued to fuel investor optimism.
Other contributors to the pension fund’s portfolio gains included SK Square, Hyundai Motor and Samsung Biologics’ holding company, though their impact was significantly smaller than that of the two semiconductor leaders.
Not all holdings moved higher. Among companies in which the pension fund holds at least a 5% stake, the largest decline in portfolio value was recorded by Hanwha Aerospace, followed by Samyang Foods, Naver and Krafton, according to the data.
The fourth-quarter surge highlights the National Pension Service’s increasing exposure to fluctuations in South Korea’s semiconductor sector, which continues to dominate both the country’s equity market and the balance sheet of its largest institutional investor.
