South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance held a meeting with promising strategic-industry companies, the Financial Services Commission and policy finance institutions to discuss how to establish a Korean sovereign wealth fund. The exercise is intended to turn the fund proposal announced in the 2026 economic growth strategy into a concrete establishment plan in the first half of 2026, with follow-up legislation to be submitted to the National Assembly shortly afterwards. The ministry described the vehicle as a new investment tool that would take equity stakes in promising strategic-industry companies and act as a long-term partner, with returns accumulated as national wealth. Companies at the meeting said firms in strategic industries need access to large-scale, long-term capital to build global competitiveness, and noted that existing policy funds and policy finance have helped build the start-up ecosystem but are mostly structured as funds that assume liquidation, limiting their role as patient capital. The Financial Services Commission, Korea Development Bank and other participating institutions said the new fund could work alongside existing policy finance and investment tools to support strategic industries, overseas business expansion and stable supply chains. Background plans cited in the release envisage an initial capital base of KRW 20 trillion through in-kind contributions of government-owned shares and shares received in kind, while keeping government ownership in relevant public institutions above 50 percent and within statutory shareholder limits. The same framework points to gradual expansion of investable resources through dividends and monetisation of contributed shares, an operating structure intended to preserve independent decision-making and investment expertise, and legislation to create a dedicated body to manage, operate and invest the assets.

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