[2026 Asia Fund Awards] Chairman Hwang Seongyeop: "Funds, a Core Instrument of Productive Finance"

My name is Hwang Seongyeop, Chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association.

Hwang Seongyeop, Chairman of the Korea Financial Investment Association

I would like to extend my sincere congratulations on the hosting of the "Asia Fund Awards." Now in its 17th year, the "Asia Fund Awards" has elevated the standard of the Korean fund market by highlighting the value of long-term investment and promoting sound market competition.

I would like to express my gratitude to Jang Beomsik, CEO of The Asia Business Daily, and all those involved in organizing this meaningful event.

On behalf of the financial investment industry, I also offer my congratulations and appreciation to all the award recipients who have devoted their efforts to the development of the Korean fund market.

As of 2026, we are passing through the tunnel of the so-called "Korea Discount" and moving beyond the major inflection point of the capital market represented by KOSPI 5000. The era of KOSPI 5000 signifies that the Korean capital market has entered a stage of qualitative maturity.

If growth driven by direct investment has injected rapid vitality into the capital market, it is now time to pursue "sustainable growth" through indirect investment, namely funds.

In 2025, total fund net assets reached 1,376 trillion won, an increase of 25.3% from the previous year, marking the largest growth in 18 years.

An analysis of leading global markets shows that the competitiveness of the capital market is determined by the share of long-term investment. Pension funds provide stable, long-term capital, and funds play a key role in linking pensions with long-term investment. In addition, funds go beyond serving merely as a means of asset management for individuals and function as a core instrument of "productive finance," channeling households' medium- to long-term capital into the real economy and innovative industries.

In this context, the Association will design and build a K-capital market ecosystem in which funds drive the sound growth of the capital market and create a virtuous cycle among funds, pensions, and corporate value.

Furthermore, to achieve sustainable growth of the capital market beyond KOSPI 5000, a fund market that can attract long-term capital in a stable manner is essential, and the starting point for this is improvements in the tax system and infrastructure. We will pursue a "structural upgrade" of the K-capital market by rectifying the irrational tax regime, including the tax imbalance between direct and indirect investment and fund taxation that disadvantages long-term investors.

We will also promote the "qualitative growth" of the K-capital market by encouraging greater participation of pension assets in the capital market. We will do this by improving the default option system and thereby shifting from "savings-type pensions" to "investment-type pensions," and from "short-term, stability-oriented" products to "long-term, return-oriented" products.

Once again, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the award recipients and wish you continued remarkable progress and success in your journey ahead.

Thank you.