Ahn Cheol-soo calls for probe into national pension rebalancing delay that wiped out W182tr

People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo has taken aim at the Lee Jae Myung administration, demanding to know who ordered the national pension fund to delay its domestic equity rebalancing — a decision Ahn said cost the fund 182 trillion won.

Ahn made the remarks Sunday in a Facebook post, calling for the identification of what Ahn described as a "serial asset destroyer" following a leveraged ETF tied to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

"Over the past three and a half months, the assessed value of shares held by the national pension fund in 287 listed companies fell by approximately 182 trillion won ($136 billion)," Ahn said. "Samsung Electronics and SK hynix alone accounted for about 131 trillion won of that decline." Ahn acknowledged that share prices naturally fluctuate, but said the principles governing the management of the public's retirement savings must not be bent to suit any administration's political agenda.

Ahn said the National Pension Service suspended its domestic equity rebalancing in January and subsequently raised its target allocation for domestic stocks. "We need to verify whether delaying the risk-reducing sell-off and increasing the domestic equity weighting was appropriate, and what impact that decision had on the decline in assessed value," Ahn said. "Yet the government and the ruling party are stalling on submitting the meeting minutes, citing potential market impact."

Ahn added that the National Pension Act explicitly requires meeting minutes to be submitted on a confidential basis when requested by the relevant National Assembly standing committee. "There is a way to conduct verification right now while protecting investment information — and yet they are blocking it," Ahn said.

"When there are gains, it is the government's achievement; when the assessed value plunges, it becomes an investment secret?" Ahn said. "If the decision was reasonable, what reason is there to block even a confidential review? Was there a directive from President Lee Jae Myung?"

Ahn said that if there are those who tried to trade the public's retirement security for political credit — through moves such as introducing a leveraged ETF tied to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix and suspending the national pension rebalancing — they must be held accountable. "The independence and accountability of pension fund management must be properly strengthened so the national pension is not abused at the whim of any administration," Ahn said. "Pension reform discussions for future generations must also get fully under way before it is too late."