National Pension Weighs Stewardship Code Expansion — "Driver of Returns vs. Political Instrument" (January 23, 2026)

(Chairman Kim Seong-ju announces "Stewardship Code Season 2"
National Pension to check unilateral corporate management — fund investment returns to rise
Concerns also raised over potential political instrumentalization — "the design approach is critical"
Stewardship reports to be made more concrete; disclosure of results required)

As the government pursues a strengthened direction for the stewardship code (the voting rights exercise guidelines of the National Pension Fund), opinion is divided between expectations of a virtuous cycle — in which improved corporate management transparency raises fund investment returns — and warnings that the initiative must not be allowed to degenerate into a political instrument.

According to the National Pension Service (NPS) on the 23rd, Chairman Kim Seong-ju of the NPS announced that he would definitively advance the substantive strengthening of fiduciary duty activities through "Stewardship Code Season 2."

(Excerpt omitted)

As the government pursues a strengthened direction for the stewardship code (the voting rights exercise guidelines of the National Pension Fund), opinion is divided between expectations of a virtuous cycle — in which improved corporate management transparency raises fund investment returns — and warnings that the initiative must not be allowed to degenerate into a political instrument.

According to the NPS on the 23rd, Chairman Kim Seong-ju announced that he would definitively advance the substantive strengthening of fiduciary duty activities through "Stewardship Code Season 2."

However, some quarters warn that expanding the stewardship code without fully guaranteed independence could allow it to be used to destabilize corporations for political purposes.

Yun Seok-myeong, Honorary Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA), expressed concern, stating, "The National Pension must not be politicized," and that "in order to translate a reinforced stewardship code into higher fund investment returns, the institutional framework must be carefully designed."

https://m.newspim.com/news/view/20260123000908