[Exclusive] 'Economic Envoy' Ambassador Choi Jong-gu Conducts 'Korea Sales' with National Pension Service in New York

March 11 New York Briefing: Engaging with Overseas Investors
National Pension Service Chairman Kim Taehyun to Attend

Ambassador Choi Jong-gu (left) and Kim Tae-hyun, Chairman of the National Pension Service.

Choi Jong-gu, Ambassador for International Financial Cooperation, will hold a briefing on the Korean economy in New York, USA, on March 11. The National Pension Service will also participate to bolster the "Korean economy sales" effort.

According to financial authorities on the 27th, Ambassador Choi will hold the Korean economy briefing in New York starting March 11. Kim Tae-hyun, Chairman of the National Pension Service, plans to visit New York during his business trip to the US, including San Francisco, to attend the briefing.

Ambassador Choi is expected to meet key figures in New York in light of the launch of the second term of the Trump administration. Along with this, he plans to meet foreign investment banks, institutional investors, and major businesspeople overseas to provide accurate information related to economic policies and to gather investors' suggestions. Previously, Ambassador Choi visited Hong Kong and Singapore to meet the three major global credit rating agencies and conveyed that Korea's economic and financial fundamentals remain solid.

The reason Ambassador Choi is attending with the Chairman of the National Pension Service is based on the judgment that it greatly helps maintain the trust of overseas investors. With assets under management reaching 1,200 trillion won, the National Pension Service is considered a major player in domestic and international capital markets. The National Pension Service concentrates more than half (66.7%) of its overseas stock portfolio in North America. As an important investor from the US perspective, it is expected to strengthen the "Korean economy sales" effort.

The National Pension Service has recorded excellent returns among the world's major pension funds. As of 2023, the major pension funds' operating returns were Japan's GPIF at 18.1%, Norway's GPFG at 16.1%, the US CalPERS at 10.3%, the Netherlands' ABP at 9.3%, and Canada's CPPI at 6.3%. The National Pension Service ranked high with 14.1%. In particular, it drew attention last year by recording its highest-ever operating return of 15%.

Ambassador Choi plans to communicate focusing on economic issues. At the Hong Kong and Singapore briefings, questions poured in regarding corporate value-up programs, inheritance tax, supplementary budgets, and overall economic policies. Similar topics are expected to continue in the US.

Meanwhile, the Ambassador for International Financial Cooperation is an unpaid honorary external ambassadorial position created earlier this year to accurately inform about Korea's economic and financial situation following the emergency martial law situation.

Ambassador Choi was a Ministry of Finance and Economy official (25th Administrative Examination) and has served as Director of the Industrial Economy Division at the Economic Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, Director of the International Finance Bureau at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Director of International Economic Management at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and Chairman of the Financial Services Commission. During his tenure as Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, he was well known for excellent communication and leadership, maintaining smooth relations with junior officials as well as the National Assembly.

In particular, having followed an elite career path as an economic bureaucrat and experienced a wide range of economic and financial policies, as well as overcoming challenges such as the global financial crisis, he is regarded as the best candidate for the role of "economic envoy."