The value of South Korean stocks held by the National Pension Service, the country's biggest domestic equity investor, has shrunk by more than 182 trillion won ($127 billion) in about 100 days. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the two chipmakers that had driven the fund's gains, accounted for 131 trillion won of the decline.
The combined value of shares in 287 listed companies in which the fund disclosed stakes of 5% or more as of June 30 and Oct. 15 was estimated at 333.533 trillion won as of Oct. 15, according to data provider FnGuide on the 18th.
That is down 182.3963 trillion won, or 35.3%, from 515.9293 trillion won at the end of June. It is the first quarterly decline in the value of those holdings in seven quarters, since the fourth quarter of 2024, and the largest drop on record.
The picture was the opposite only a few months ago. The fund posted about 189 trillion won in unrealized gains between April 1 and July 6. Share prices then slumped, erasing an amount roughly equal to those gains.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix took the heaviest hit. The two large-cap semiconductor stocks that had led the earlier increase accounted for most of the losses this time. The value of the fund's SK hynix holdings fell 74.2261 trillion won and its Samsung Electronics holdings fell 56.871 trillion won. Together, the two accounted for 131.0971 trillion won, or 71.8% of the total decline.
Over the same period, Samsung Electronics shares fell about 37.1% to 210,000 won from 334,000 won. SK hynix dropped about 52.4% to 1.262 million won from 2.65 million won. As of Oct. 15, the fund held a 7.84% stake in Samsung Electronics and 7.32% in SK hynix.
Losses extended to other major holdings. The value of the fund's SK Square shares fell 10.8698 trillion won and Samsung Electro-Mechanics fell 7.5914 trillion won. Of the 287 stocks surveyed, 176 declined in value.
Some holdings gained. SK Innovation was the biggest contributor. The fund raised its stake to 7.14% from 6.03% over the period, and the share price rose to 155,000 won from 94,900 won, lifting the value of the holding by 904.1 billion won. S-Oil followed with a gain of 710.7 billion won, then LG Energy Solution at 580.8 billion won and Hanwha Solutions at 434.7 billion won.
The fund also adjusted its portfolio during the slump. The number of companies in which it held stakes of 5% or more rose to 274 as of Oct. 15 from 270 at the end of June.
Seventeen companies newly crossed the 5% threshold, including Xi S&D at 9.31%, Pharma Research at 7.94%, DN Automotive at 7.08%, Hanwha Solutions at 6.41% and Korea Zinc at 5.48%. Stakes in 13 others, including LG Display, Global Tax Free and Hans Biomed, slipped below 5%.
Among existing holdings, the fund's stake in GS E&C rose 5.06 percentage points to 12.88% from 7.82%. Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance rose to 12.37% from 9.42% and Binggrae to 9.37% from 6.47%. Stakes in Hanwha, Korean Air and NAVER rose 1.92 percentage points, 1.90 percentage points and 1.27 percentage points, respectively.
In the other direction, the stake in Paradise fell to 8.39% from 12.33% and Samsung Biologics to 6.56% from 10.27%. Holdings in Mirae Asset Securities fell to 6.19% from 7.23% and Samsung Securities to 12.15% from 13.36%, each a drop of more than 1 percentage point. In total, the fund increased stakes in 84 companies and reduced them in 82.
Selling was most pronounced in KOSDAQ-listed stocks. Only seven of the 84 companies in which the fund raised its stake were listed on the KOSDAQ, including Pharma Research, RF Materials and Doosan Tesna. Of the 82 in which it cut its stake, 21 were KOSDAQ companies. The fund had bought a number of KOSDAQ stocks in the first half amid government measures to invigorate the market, and analysts read the shift as a reduction in some of those positions.
The stake in Daejoo Electronic Materials, seen as a beneficiary of SpaceX-related demand, fell to 6.27% from 7.67%. Duksan Hi-Metal, a semiconductor materials and equipment maker, dropped out of the 5%-or-more group. The stake in cosmetics developer and manufacturer Cosmecca Korea fell to 10.91% from 12.99%, and biotech firm OliX also fell out of the 5% group.