Politics · South Korea · 2 hrs ago
South Korea opposition blames government decisions for stock market losses
South Korea’s People Power Party blamed the government for a sharp stock market fall and said policy decisions had worsened the losses.
The party criticized the National Pension Service for pausing its usual rebalancing and raising its target share of domestic stocks from 14.9% to 20.8% in May.
It said the fund’s stock holdings lost more than 120 trillion won in value during July, while the fund as a whole fell by 181 trillion won that month.
The party also criticized the introduction of single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds, which can magnify gains and losses, and said borrowing by investors had increased.
It argued that future generations could bear the cost if pension fund returns weaken, because they may face higher contributions.
The party said the government and pension fund had not made public records explaining the decisions and called for the records to be released and the decisions investigated.
South Korea’s People Power Party blamed the government for recent stock market losses and called for an investigation.
Party spokesperson Park Chung-kwon said policy decisions and delayed pension rebalancing contributed to the losses.
He said the National Pension Service’s holdings lost more than 120 trillion won in value during a July market drop.
Park also said the pension fund’s total value fell by 181 trillion won that month.
People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik described the market fall as the cost of efforts to support share prices.
- Who
- South Korea’s People Power Party, including spokesperson Park Chung-kwon and floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik.
- What
- The party blamed government policies and pension fund decisions for stock market losses and called for an investigation.
- When
- Jeong made his remarks on October 15; the reports were published on October 15 and 16, 2026.
- Where
- South Korea.
- Why
- The party said delaying National Pension Service rebalancing and introducing single-stock leveraged ETFs contributed to the market decline.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The National Pension Service stopped selling shares to reduce its stock allocation when prices rose, according to Park.
The National Pension Service raised its target allocation to domestic stocks from 14.9% to 20.8%, Park said.
Park said the pension fund’s total value fell by 181 trillion won and the value of its stock holdings dropped by more than 120 trillion won.
The balance of credit loans rose from the 27 trillion won range to 33.7 trillion won, according to Park.
Jeong blamed the market plunge on leveraged ETFs and the postponement of pension rebalancing.
- People Power Party spokesperson
- Park Chung-kwon
- Pension fund stock holdings
- Value fell by more than 120 trillion won in July, according to Park
- Pension fund total value
- Fell by 181 trillion won in July, according to Park
- Domestic stock target allocation
- Rose from 14.9% to 20.8% in May
- Credit loan balance
- Rose from the 27 trillion won range in early August to 33.7 trillion won
- Called-for action
- Park urged the government to disclose meeting records and said the party would pursue a parliamentary investigation and special prosecutor if it refused
What people are saying
The burden of these losses will be borne by young people and future generations.
The bigger problem is that no one is taking responsibility for either of these two decisions.
This is the expensive bill for hastily introducing single-stock leveraged ETFs and forcibly postponing National Pension Service rebalancing to support the stock market recklessly.