Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
NPS struggles to attract talented fund managers
The headquarters of National Pension Service in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province / Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
The National Pension Service (NPS) is struggling to recruit highly-qualified fund managers after the NPS moved its headquarters from Seoul to Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, in 2015, according to industry officials and job data on Wednesday.
The NPS manages 1,228.4 trillion won ($886.5 billion), as the country’s sole state-run pension operator, and that amount is expected to grow to 1,882 trillion won by 2040.
While working with such a massive fund should be tempting for aspiring fund managers, the ratio of applicants to new jobs available this year is close to last year's ratio, which hit a record low.
According to Alio, a state-run website offering statistics about the government and state-owned companies, the ratio was 3.57 to 1 in the first of the six rounds of job openings this year.
The ratio means for each NPS fund management position available, a little more than three individuals submitted applications.
In 2024, the ratio for the entire six rounds of job openings averaged 3.45 applications for one position.
“Under the circumstances, this year’s ratio is not likely to get any better, given that young Koreans mostly want to work in Seoul,” Inha University economics professor Shin Il-soon said.
The professor also noted that the ratio has been in a downward trend since the relocation of the NPS.
It was measured at 7.22 to 1 in 2020, 4.38 to 1 in 2021 and 3.83 to 1 in 2022, before slightly increasing to 4.06 to 1 in 2023.
By category, no one applied to work in the financial settlement sector, which sought to fill one position this year.
For each risk management and financial settlement operation position, the number of applicants matched the recruitment target, but no one passed the first round of screening.
Only the alternative investment sector, which encompasses private equity, real estate and infrastructure, exceeded the average ratio as it measured a 5.75 to 1 ratio.
People familiar with the NPS picked geographic location as the primary reason for the company's fall in popularity among job seekers.
They pointed out the ratio of applicants to fund management jobs was 32 to 1 in 2014, a year before the company moved to Jeonju under the government’s balanced regional development initiative.
For cost reasons, a long-term housing program to help employees settle in Jeonju also ended after the NPS operated corresponding housing units for eight years from 2017 to 2024.
The NPS had offered housing for four years, with a possible two-year extension under the government’s approval.
Those who want to commute from Seoul also have accessibility challenges, as the NPS is about a 30-minute drive from the nearest KTX bullet train station in Iksan, a North Jeolla Provincial city with frequent high speed trains to and from Seoul.
Asked how the NPS is grappling with the recruitment challenges, an NPS PR official said it is “closely coping with the government’s measures for a balanced regional development."
“The NPS is not the only state-run company that faces problems with recruitment,” the official said, declining to be named. “It is an issue that should be addressed in the long term for regional economies to evenly develop.”