South Korea's National Pension Service denied rumors that it would trigger a 74 trillion won sell-off in the domestic stock market [4].
These rumors created significant concern among investors that a massive liquidation of assets would put downward pressure on the KOSPI and other domestic indices. Because the National Pension Service is one of the largest institutional investors in the country, its trading activity can dictate broader market trends.
The agency addressed claims that it intended to dump assets totaling 74 trillion won [4]. An official from the National Pension Service said the possibility of such an event is "zero" [1]. The official said reporters that investors should not be swayed by some of the claims circulating in the market [2].
To provide transparency, the agency released data regarding its recent rebalancing activities. While the fund had previously postponed rebalancing from January 2026 through June 2026 [6], it resumed the process in May 2026 [6]. The agency reported that the actual scale of selling during the first two days of the rebalancing restart was approximately 260 billion won [5].
This figure stands in contrast to the 74 trillion won rumor [4] and the estimates from some experts who projected sell-offs between 60 trillion and 70 trillion won [3]. The fund currently manages total reserves of 1,670.7 trillion won [1].
Market volatility often spikes when large funds adjust their portfolios to maintain target asset allocations. In this case, the National Pension Service sought to stabilize the market by correcting the misinformation. The agency noted that domestic stock returns had reached approximately 60% [1], which often necessitates rebalancing to manage risk, and maintain the fund's strategic asset mix.
“"The possibility of such an event is zero."”
The discrepancy between the 260 billion won actual sell-off and the 74 trillion won rumor highlights the fragility of market sentiment toward large institutional moves. By publicly correcting the scale of its rebalancing, the National Pension Service is attempting to prevent a self-fulfilling prophecy where panic selling by retail investors triggers the very crash they fear.
