National Pension Fund holds 5% stake in 62 listed companies
The state-run National Pension Fund (NPF), Korea’s largest institutional investor, holds at least a 5 percent stake of nearly 70 percent of the listed affiliates of the country’s top 10 business groups, giving the firm voting power, financial data showed Sunday.
Out of the 89 affiliate companies of the 10 conglomerates, including Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group, NPS holds a 5 percent or more stake in 62 firms, according to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service.
The NPS is registered as a major shareholder in a total of 16 affiliates including Hotel Shilla, the accommodation subsidiary of Samsung Group, and Hyundai Engineering & Construction of Hyundai Motor Group.
In particular, the NPS has significant decision-making influence on Samsung Group, the country’s largest business group, as it has 5 percent or more stakes in the group’s 11 listed affiliates such as Samsung C&T, Samsung Fire &Marine Insurance, and marketing company Cheil Worldwide.
Against this backdrop, the NPS was able to play a major role in the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, the then de facto holding firm of the conglomerate, last year.
As part of Samsung’s power-succession plan, the merger had faced a very strong challenge from individual stakeholders led by U.S. hedge fund Elliott Associates, but the merger was eventually approved by a shareholder meeting on the back of the strong voting power of the NPS.
As a result, the chief of the NPS has been under investigation over allegations that the presidential office influenced his decision to back Samsung’s merger through the pension fund.
The NPS also has stakes in other big businesses including Naver, the No. 1 online portal operator, KT, the largest fixed-wire service firm, and AmorePacific, the leading cosmetics maker.
The total amount of shares that the NPS holds in listed companies is worth a total of 100.1 trillion won ($85.3 billion) as of the end of September.
The Seoul-based NPS is currently headed by former Health and Welfare Minister Moon Hyung-Pyo, who took up the chief executive officer and chairman role Dec. 31 of last year.