Korea’s largest institutional investor, the National Pension Service (NPS), intends to increase its engagement with its portfolio companies after the appointment of a new chief investment officer. The pension fund, the third largest in the world with US$709 billion of assets under management, named Seo Won-Joo as CIO. In his opening press conference, he said that the NPS has “strived to encourage corporates on responsible management practices while seeking stable returns for the long term, and it will continue its efforts with responsible investment”. One area of concern for the NPS has been the level of transparency around corporate governance at some of Korea’s largest companies. The pension fund’s chief executive Kim Tae-Hyun recently criticised Korean telco operator KT for endorsing its incumbent chief executive to lead the company rather than holding an election contest. It is expected that the NPS will vote against the reappointment of KT’s chief executive, Ku Hyeon-Mu, when the motion comes up in March. ©2023 funds global asia