January 2024

South Korea. NPS Achieved Impressive 9.88% Annual Return Last Year, Approaching 1 Quadrillion Won Mark

As of November last year, the National Pension Fund’s (NPS) rate of return approached double digits. Despite concerns about a global economic downturn, the strength of the stock market resulted in the evaluation of the fund’s assets surging to nearly 1 quadrillion won. The NPS Investment Management disclosed on Jan. 29 that the cumulative rate of return for the fund until November last year stood at 9.88 percent. This figure represents a notable increase from the cumulative return of 6.75...

South Korean president set to reform pensions, labor and education

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has shown a steadfast commitment to implementing sweeping reforms in labor, education, and pensions, as he acknowledged in his recent New Year address. The President’s pledge mirrors his unwavering resolve to address the long-standing rigidity of the nation’s job market, enhance the quality of education, and ensure the sustainability of the pension system. This commitment marks these policy areas as likely focal points for his administration’s significant legislative and practical efforts. Addressing Labor Concerns President Yoon’s...

November 2023

S. Korea’s youth population expected to halve in 30 years

The number of young South Koreans was expected to halve in 30 years amid the rapidly aging population and the record-low birthrate, the country's statistical agency said Monday. The number of those aged 19-34 totaled 10,213,000 in 2020, taking up 20.4 percent of the country's total population, according to Statistics Korea. The number was forecast to drop to 5,213,000 in 2050 after steadily declining from 13,849,000 in 1990 to 12,883,000 in 2000 and 10,967,000 in 2010. The percentage of youth to the...

October 2023

Number of working Korean women in 30s surges amid low fertility rate

The recent trend of an increase in the proportion of working women in their 30s was primarily due to a reduction in the number of women with children, according to a report released Monday by the Korea Development Institute, a South Korean state-run think tank. Kim Ji-yeon, a researcher at the KDI, noted that although the drop in the number of women in their 30s that have children may seem like a positive factor in the short term because it...

Korea’s national pension fund logs over 10% return through October

Korea's state pension fund registered some 10 percent yield through October on the back of good performance in its investments in local and overseas stocks, its operator said Monday. The National Pension Service (NPS) said the national pension fund logged a 10.27 percent return in the January-October period, with the value of its assets under management reaching 997.38 trillion won ($739 billion) as of end-October. Last year, the pension fund logged its worst return at minus 8.28 percent amid jitters in...

S.Korea pension fund to keep increasing overseas investments through 2028

South Korea's National Pension Service (NPS) will increase its overseas investments to 60% of total assets by 2028, the welfare ministry said on Friday. The NPS will also prepare a portfolio-setting mechanism to expand alternative investments more easily, employ more personnel for such investments, and diversify its portfolio with mid-risk, mid-return investments. With the measures, the NPS aims to improve its investment returns by one more percentage point to help sustain the fund, which is expected to be depleted by 2055...

Korea sees accelerating drop in birth rate

The number of babies born in Korea in August plummeted to the lowest level in nearly three years, data showed, Wednesday, heightening concerns of a looming demographic crisis driven by the world’s lowest fertility rate, decline in marriage and aging population. Statistics Korea said a total of 18,984 babies were born in August, down 12.8 percent from a year earlier. It marks the steepest year-on-year decline since November 2020, when the number of childbirths dipped 15.5 percent. The latest tally also marks...

September 2023

South Korea. Urgent pension reform

One of the problems modern welfare states must tackle is defusing the pension time bomb. And nowhere is this more urgent than in Korea, with the fastest aging population and steepest decline in birth rate worldwide. Moreover, thanks to accumulated funds, Korean retirees receive considerably more than they contributed. It contrasts with the pay-as-you-go-type schemes of some countries. That cannot go on because of the nation's demographic structure. Someone must persuade Koreans to get less ― or at least not more ―...

August 2023

Labour unions push to raise retirement age in greying South Korea

South Korean labour unions are battling company managements to press an unusual demand: raising the age of retirement to give workers a few more wage-earning years before having to seek another job to supplement slim pensions. The issue fuels a contest for jobs between older workers among one of the world's fastest-ageing populations, with a rate of poverty among its elderly of three times the OECD average, and young workforce entrants facing dwindling options. "Having to move to low-quality jobs after...

July 2023

South Korea’s $1 trillion pension fund under new pressure by climate groups over coal

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) is being challenged by climate groups demanding for the retirement fund, one of the world’s largest, to disclose details of discussions over limiting investments in coal. Three activist groups jointly filed a case on Tuesday at the Seoul Administrative Court accusing the welfare ministry, which oversees the fund, of refusing to release minutes of meetings at which coal divestment policies were discussed, the campaigners said in a statement. NPS declined to comment on the...