SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of companies in which South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) holds stakes of 5% or more has decreased by 14 over the past year, according to a new analysis.
CEO Score, a corporate research firm, reported on January 15 that the number of listed companies with NPS stakes of 5% or higher fell from 285 at the end of 2023 to 271 by the end of 2024. Companies in which the pension fund holds stakes of 10% or more also decreased from 43 to 35 during the same period.
Throughout the year, the NPS increased its shareholding in 121 companies while reducing stakes in 173. The number of companies where the fund serves as the largest shareholder dropped from seven to five.
CEO Score attributed this more conservative investment approach to the overall decline in market capitalization of major Korean companies amid challenging market conditions.
HDC Hyundai Development Company saw the largest increase in NPS ownership, with the fund’s stake rising 6.67 percentage points from 5.64% to 12.31%. Other notable increases included HD Hyundai Mipo (up 5.24 percentage points to 12.24%), Samsung Securities (up 5.02 points to 13.45%), Hanwha Engine (up 4.98 points to 12.73%), Daewoong Pharmaceutical (up 4.1 points to 11.14%), and GC Pharma (up 3.48 points to 10.53%).
Conversely, C&C International, a cosmetics ODM manufacturer, experienced the largest decrease in NPS ownership, falling 7.09 percentage points from 12.1% to 5.01%. Other significant reductions were seen in ISU Petasys (down 5.40 points to 7.43%), HD Hyundai Electric (down 5.20 points to 7.24%), Hyosung TNC (down 4.85 points to 6.85%), Samyang Foods (down 4.31 points to 8.41%), and PharmaResearch (down 3.98 points to 5.24%).
The fund added 30 new companies to its portfolio of 5%-plus holdings in 2024. Of these, 12 companies, including STX Engine, Samhwa Electric, and GS P&L, entered through new disclosures, while 18 others, including Iljin Electric and KC Tech, saw their NPS stakes rise above the 5% threshold.
By industry, holding companies represented the largest sector with 41 companies, followed by IT and electronics with 39, petrochemicals with 26, shipbuilding, machinery, and equipment with 24, and services with 23 companies.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)