Government Accelerates Creation of Korean Sovereign Wealth Fund... Establishes Foundation for Long-Term Investment in Strategic Industries

by Lee Dongwoo

Published 29 Apr.2026 10:30(KST)

The government has begun the process of outlining the creation of a “Korean sovereign wealth fund.” The plan is to secure future growth engines by making long-term equity investments in promising companies within strategic industries and to accumulate investment returns as national wealth.

On April 29, the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced that it held a roundtable discussion at the Korea Fiscal Information Service, attended by strategic industry companies, the Financial Services Commission, Korea Development Bank, and other relevant institutions, to discuss the direction for establishing a sovereign wealth fund. This meeting was organized to gather on-the-ground feedback as part of efforts to flesh out the sovereign wealth fund initiative included in the “2026 Economic Growth Strategy” announced this past January.

During the roundtable, companies pointed out the difficulty of securing large-scale, long-term funds during their growth stages. They emphasized the need for so-called “patient capital,” a form of long-term investment, as opposed to existing policy funds which are based on short-term liquidation. There were also expectations expressed that the sovereign wealth fund could help fill this gap.

Yonhap News Agency

Financial authorities and policy finance institutions also agreed that linking the sovereign wealth fund with existing policy finance could generate synergies in fostering strategic industries, expanding overseas, and stabilizing supply chains.

According to the “2026 Economic Growth Strategy,” the government plans to devise a plan for establishing the sovereign wealth fund within the first half of the year. The initial capital will be set at around 20 trillion won by utilizing government-contributed shares and in-kind stock contributions, and the funding pool will be gradually expanded through dividends and asset monetization. Additionally, an independent decision-making structure will be established to ensure investment autonomy and expertise, and a legal framework will be created for establishing an organization exclusively responsible for the management, operation, and investment of sovereign wealth.

Min Kyungseol, Director-General of Innovation and Growth at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, stated, “The sovereign wealth fund will become a new investment vehicle that accumulates the fruits of growth through long-term partnership investments in strategic industry companies and shares them with future generations. We will promptly reflect the opinions from this roundtable, prepare the legislation as soon as possible, and move forward with submitting it to the National Assembly.”