The National Pension Service was hit by a deluge of protest calls and emails from overseas K-pop fans, bringing operations to a halt. Overseas fans, suspecting that the fund, the largest shareholder of the agency of a certain famous idol group, had intervened in connection with a member's withdrawal announcement, launched a coordinated action.
Kim Sung-joo, chairman of the National Pension Service, on the 18th posted on his Facebook a piece titled "The story of the National Pension Service International Pension Support Center being paralyzed," revealing the absurd situation facing the fund.
Kim said, "Last week, a flood of overseas calls suddenly came into the National Pension Service International Pension Support Center, temporarily paralyzing operations, and about 1,500 emails poured in over two hours."
He added, "From what we heard, posts spread on social media (SNS) saying overseas fans should call to protest to the National Pension Service, the major shareholder of HYBE, over the issue of an ENHYPEN member's withdrawal."
ENHYPEN is a group under HYBE's label Belift Lab Inc. that debuted in 2020 and has gained worldwide popularity. When member Heeseung abruptly announced withdrawal on the 10th, fans were in shock.
Kim said, "On SNS, there are posts saying 'Protest to the National Pension Service, asking whether it received prior contact from HYBE and whether it knows the market value lost due to this decision,' along with the International Pension Support Center's counseling number."
He said, "The international support center is a department in charge of pension support services for foreign workers who come to work in Korea and for Koreans who go abroad to work," adding, "People calling for pension counseling suffered great inconvenience due to this situation."
Kim emphasized, "The National Pension Service is a long-term investor that manages the public's retirement funds and invests in numerous corporations in more than 80 countries around the world, but it does not involve itself in individual companies' management or personnel issues," adding, "Naturally, it does not involve itself in the formation of K-pop groups or their member composition."
The commotion began as overseas fans spread the claim on X and other SNS that "we should hold the pension fund, HYBE's largest shareholder, to account."
Overseas fans, along with messages such as "We should pressure the National Pension Service to withdraw its investment in HYBE" and "We should inform them that HYBE's share price will fall due to Heeseung's withdrawal," shared counseling phone numbers operating in various languages.
Kim said, "It was an episode that spread quickly on SNS, but it was also a chance to rethink what role the National Pension Service plays," adding, "We will continue to manage the public's precious retirement funds stably while maintaining a sense of mission regarding social impact and responsibility."