NPS Hits Record Profits via Samsung and SK Hynix
Discover how the National Pension Service achieved record-breaking returns through the AI semiconductor rally. Learn the term 대반전 today!
EN brief: 삼성전자·SK하이닉스 '버스 탑승'...'대반전' 드라마 썼다 (culture) + 1 glossary term.
Summary
South Korea's National Pension Service (NPS) has achieved a historic milestone in its fund management. Driven by a massive rally in the semiconductor sector, the institution recorded unprecedented profits within the domestic stock market over the past year.
Reports indicate that the valuation of domestic stocks held by the NPS surged from approximately 129 trillion won at the end of 2024 to about 353 trillion won by mid-April 2026. This represents a staggering increase of over 173% in just 16 months.
The primary drivers of this growth were tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. These two companies alone accounted for more than half of the total valuation gains, reflecting their dominant positions in the global AI chip market.
Market analysts remain optimistic about the future, as both companies continue to lead in Next-Generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) technology. This success is expected to alleviate concerns regarding the long-term depletion of the national pension fund.
Quick cheat sheet
Expressions in this post
In the headline, the term (dae-ban-jeon) is used to describe the "great reversal" or "massive turnaround" of the pension fund's fortunes. It combines (great/big) and (reversal/twist). It is often used in sports, movies, or financial news when a situation changes drastically for the better.
