The Pension Future Forum Provisionally Supports the Government's Policy Direction on the Exercise of National Pension Shareholder Rights (March 8, 2026)

(The Pension Future Forum convened its 12th and 13th seminars on the themes of "Strengthening the National Pension Stewardship Code" and "Improving the Governance of National Pension Fund Management."

The primary purpose was grounded in the principle that the National Pension must not infringe upon the autonomy of corporate management and fund administration.

The government has recently appeared to adopt a somewhat more progressive position on this matter.

The Pension Future Forum supports this shift in the government's position.

Unlike the Pension Future Forum, the National Action for Strengthening Public Pensions — which led the regressive deterioration of the National Pension on March 20, 2025 —

has come forward to denounce this change in the government's position.

Regarding the issues concerning large corporations raised by the National Action for Strengthening Public Pensions,

there are some aspects related to stewardship code operations with which the Pension Future Forum also concurs; however,

the entire process

appears to be a matter that can be sufficiently resolved if it is operated with 100% transparency.

The relevant news article is attached below.)

The Ministry of Health and Welfare is pursuing a plan to allow private asset management firms to directly exercise a portion of the voting rights attached to domestic equities held by the National Pension.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that, at the Second National Pension Fund Management Committee meeting of 2026, held on the 5th at the Government Seoul Building, the ministry received and discussed a report entitled "Plan for Promoting Fiduciary Responsibility Activities in the Delegated Management of Domestic Equities."

Currently, for companies in which the National Pension's Fund Management Headquarters has made direct investments, the National Pension directly exercises voting rights inclusive of the delegated management stake.

By contrast, for companies in which the Fund Management Headquarters has not made direct investments, the structure is such that delegated management firms exercise the voting rights.

https://n.news.naver.com/article/079/0004121653?sid=102&type=journalists&cds=news_edit