[Chae Hui-chang Column] Pension Funds Are Not the Government's Petty Cash (February 2, 2026)

Yet where there is light, there is also shadow.

It is a matter of serious concern that the government is mobilizing pension funds wholesale for stock market support and exchange rate defense.

The President remarked, "I cannot understand why domestic pension funds buy so little domestic stock and instead load up on foreign equities."

In response, the National Pension convened its first fund management committee meeting of the year more than a month ahead of schedule and raised the allocation to domestic equities by 0.5 percentage points.

The Ministry of Planning and Budget also increased the KOSDAQ investment share of 1,400 trillion won in surplus funds held by 67 pension funds from the current level of 3.7% to 5%. The pension funds are being treated as the government's petty cash.

Once the domestic investment share is expanded in this manner, it becomes politically difficult to reduce it again. Should stock prices collapse, what would be done then.

Demanding that the National Pension serve as a "firefighter" for the exchange rate is excessive.

Mobilizing citizens' retirement savings for currency intervention crosses a line.

The National Pension's own operational guidelines state that "foreign exchange exposure arising from overseas investments and foreign-currency short-term funds shall, in principle, not be hedged."

Can there be any citizen who wishes to see the National Pension diverted to stabilize the foreign exchange market, missing critical investment opportunities or suffering a decline in investment returns?

If holes are punctured in the pension dam one by one, the dam itself may eventually be shaken.

(Excerpt)

Advanced pension systems were not achieved without effort.

Canada's pension fund, which ranks first in the world in terms of investment returns, entrusts its management to investment professionals who are completely free from government and political influence. It has enshrined "maximization of returns" in statutory language.

The first principle of Norway's sovereign wealth fund, which holds 2,400 trillion won in assets, is "investment exclusively abroad."

Not a single won is invested in the domestic market.

Japan's public pension system has likewise enshrined the principle that it "shall not be used as a means to prop up the stock market or to implement government policy."

These cases should serve as cautionary examples.

https://n.news.naver.com/article/022/0004102685?sid=110