The national pension fund has ventured into investments for the first time since its launch in 2001. The government aims to broaden the venture ecosystem and secure revenue for the fund.
On the 22nd, the Ministry of Economy and Finance held the '89th Investment Fund Operation Committee' and deliberated and approved a plan to create a 'LP first step fund' to assist public funds in investing in venture companies.
The LP first step fund is designed to enable the national pension fund and first-time investors without a venture investment track record to enter the venture market.
The government plans to create a total of 40.5 billion won in the fund through contributions from the Trade Insurance Fund (20 billion won), the Fund of Funds (20 billion won), and the Korea Venture Investment Corporation (5 billion won).
The government aims to complete the creation of the fund by early August and will select the participating fund managers in the second half of the year, with actual investments in venture companies expected to start as early as the end of this year.
During the meeting, plans to select a new manager for the national pension fund were also discussed. The government, noting that the contract period for the existing manager ends in December of this year, deliberated and approved evaluation criteria and procedures for the selection of a new manager. Starting this time, securities firms are also allowed to participate following the institutional reform in February. The successor manager is expected to be selected by the end of September this year through a bidding process by the Public Procurement Service.
Im Gi-geun, the second vice minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, emphasized, 'It is time for the national pension fund to actively support the government's core strategic agenda, including strengthening industrial competitiveness such as AI, responding to climate neutrality and climate crises, and addressing regional extinction.'
He further stated, 'With this historic first venture investment by the national pension fund, we will create a virtuous cycle structure that allows the national pension fund to invest in innovative venture sectors such as AI, expand the base of the venture market, and simultaneously secure the fund's revenue and stability.'