NPS selects four Korean VCs to invest 150 bn won

The National Pension Service (NPS) of South Korea said on Nov. 9 it has selected the venture capital firms that will entrust the pension fund’s 150 billion won ($127.2 million). Four Seoul-headquartered venture capital companies, SL Investment Co., DSC Investment Inc., Stonebridge Ventures Inc. and Mirae Asset Venture Investment Co., have been chosen.  
 
NPS will commit 30 billion to 60 billion won to each venture capital firm, investing 40% or less of each venture fund's commitment. The newly-created venture funds will have a combined worth of 400 billion won. Each VC will also invest at least 2% of the total commitment of each venture fund, of which maturity and the investment period are eight and four years, respectively. 

The pension fund is expanding investment in the venture sector as the recent listings of Korean startups and venture companies increase and the return on investment is getting higher. Venture companies such as K-pop group BTS’ entertainment agency Hybe Co. in October last year and online game company Krafton Inc. in August this year were successfully listed, and Softbank-backed travel accommodation platform Yanolja Inc. has been recognized for its corporate value of about 10 trillion won.

NPS’ venture assets, around 900 billion won in 2020, are expected to exceed 1 trillion won within this year.

Write to Jae-fu Kim at hu@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.