Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
NH-Amundi main beneficiary of Moon administration
NongHyup (NH) Financial Group Chairman Kim Gwang-soo subscribes to NH-Amundi Asset Management's Green Korea Fund at NongHyup Bank's main branch in Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of NH Financial Group
By Park Jae-hyuk
Pro-government moves attributed to NH Financial chairman
By Park Jae-hyuk
NH-Amundi Asset Management has become a rising star under the Moon Jae-in administration for its preemptive efforts to keep pace with major government policies.
The asset management company, jointly established by NongHyup (NH) Financial Group and the French asset management firm Amundi, created an equity fund called the Green Korea Fund earlier this month, in line with the administration's Green New Deal initiative.
The fund mainly invests in industries with higher sustainable growth rates, such as fuel-cell, electric vehicle, healthcare, 5G network and wind-power generation.
“Based on NH-Amundi's excellent research and management capabilities proven with the Victorious Korea Fund, I hope this fund leads to investments in the Korean New Deal,” NH Financial Chairman Kim Gwang-soo said after he subscribed this week.
Other asset management firms have begun following in NH-Amundi's footsteps.
Samsung Asset Management launched the New Deal Korea Fund on Monday to focus on investments in green and digital industries. KB Asset Management and Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management also plan to create equity funds related to the Korean New Deal.
Mirae Asset Global Investments wants to list its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on five “K-New Deal” indices in October.
President's fund manager
NH-Amundi has become popular since it created the Victorious Korea Fund in August last year, aimed at supporting domestic materials, parts and equipment manufacturers. This came amid Japan's export restrictions targeting Korean firms in apparent political retaliation for the South Korean Supreme Court's rulings against Japanese companies over wartime forced labor.
President Moon backed this effort by putting 50 million won ($42,000) into the fund.
Ministers and high-ranking officials at government institutions and private enterprises also subscribed to the fund, saying they wanted Korea to cut the country's dependence on Japanese industrial materials, parts and equipment industries.
This resulted in NH-Amundi chief investment officer (CIO) Ko Soong-chul being dubbed the “President's fund manager.”
Although some opposition parties dismissed the fund as “financial nationalism,” capitalizing on a nationalist moment and government support, its rate of return reached 56 percent in August, a year after its launch. The figure went higher this month following Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's sudden resignation.
NH Financial chairman's stance
Industry officials said behind NH-Amundi's pro-government stance was the NH Financial chairman who has been known as one of the friendliest financial CEOs to the Moon administration.
Kim became a government official in 1983 and worked at Cheong Wa Dae. He served as an assistant secretary for economic affairs at the presidential office under the Kim Dae-jung administration in 2001 and worked under the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2005.
Although he left the government in 2014 when he resigned as the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit commissioner, he was mentioned as the strongest candidate for the Financial Services Commission chairman, the Financial Supervisory Service governor and the Korea Exchange chairman after President Moon took office in 2017.
A year after the launch of the administration, Kim made a “glorious return,” being appointed chief of the nation's fifth-largest financial holding company.
In April, he was reappointed to serve for one more year.
During his first term, he led the group to post record-high annual earnings in 2019. NH Financial also outperformed the fourth-largest Woori Financial Group in first-half net profit.
However, there are concerns about the chairman's pro-government stance.
Critics said NongHyup Bank employees could be overly forced to encourage their customers to subscribe to the Green Korea Fund, so as to boost its popularity at an early stage. The Victorious Korea Fund was embroiled in a similar controversy after revelations that a third of subscribers were bank workers.