Korea’s sovereign fund KIC posts worst investment loss in 2022

Korea Investment Corporation logo [Courtesy of Korea Investment Corporation]

The Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), a sovereign wealth fund in South Korea, lost more than 38 trillion won ($29.7 billion) from investments last year, data showed Wednesday.

According to documents obtained by Democratic Party lawmaker Yang Kyung-sook from KIC, the annual loss amount reached $29.7 billion. Its annual asset return also fell to an all-time low of -14.36 percent in 2022, with -17.58 percent return in traditional segments like stocks and bonds.

KIC’s cumulative gain stood at $58.2 billion in the end of last year, down from $87.9 billion in 2021. Cumulative annual return rate also fell 1.35 percentage points to 4.12 percent from 5.47 percent.

As of end of 2022, 38.3 percent of the KIC assets was stocks, 31.5 percent bonds, and 22.9 percent alternative assets.

“The purpose of KIC establishment is to efficiently manage the assets of the government, Bank of Korea, and public funds, to contribute to the development of the financial industry,” Yang said. “The record-low return of the sovereign fund shows its lack of investment capacity.”