The Democratic Party stated on August 6 that "major asset management firms claim they have no incentives to engage in stewardship code activities compared to smaller firms."
Kim Nam-keun, a member of the Democratic Party's K-Capital Market Special Committee, spoke to reporters after a meeting with the Financial Services Commission, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the National Pension Service to review the implementation of the National Pension's stewardship code. He noted, "It is common for large asset management firms to be affiliates of large corporations or financial holding companies. There is significant external pressure and pressure related to transactions with affiliates."
The stewardship code is a voluntary guideline that encourages institutional investors to monitor the management of the companies they invest in and exercise their voting rights to enhance corporate value. The K-Capital Market Special Committee views the activation of the stewardship code as one of its key tasks.
He added, "The way the National Pension evaluates the stewardship code activities of each asset management firm will no longer be haphazard but will be structured." He also announced plans to hold a discussion forum in the National Assembly at the end of this month.
The upcoming forum is expected to focus on improving practices related to 'stock price suppression.' Kim stated, "The stock market has significantly declined due to single-stock leveraged ETFs, and there is growing distrust about whether it can recover. We aim to discuss how to restore that trust."
Meanwhile, there has been backlash within the ruling party regarding the stock price suppression measures included in the recent government tax reform proposal. Representative Lee Hoon-ki introduced a bill containing improvement measures the previous day.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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