Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) is a representative foreign investment institution in Korea that invests in various international financial products, such as stocks, bonds, foreign exchange, and real estate, by being entrusted with the assets such as foreign exchange reserves from the government and the Bank of Korea, whose asset management size amounted to KRW 167 trillion as of July 2019.

However, KIC has made significant investments in unethical companies such as Oxy, which has caused damage from its humidifier disinfectants, and Volkswagen, which was responsible for an emission manipulation incident. This served as a momentum that it was socially pointed out that KIC, as a sovereign wealth fund, did not consider factors such as the environment, society, and the corporate governance of companies, unlike general asset management companies that seek only returns. To resolve this problem, KIC has established and announced the Principles of Trusteeship of KIC (Stewardship Principles), which needs a legal basis to be settled.

In addition, since it was found that the companies that KIC invested in included many so-called war criminal companies with a record of forced mobilization of the Korean people during the period of resistance to Japan, there has been criticism that KIC is being managed and operated against national sentiment.

Therefore, this amendment aims to provide a legal basis for KIC to take social responsibility through socially responsible investments that consider factors such as the environment, society, and governance related to investment targets when investing in stocks and exclude companies with a record of forced mobilization of the Korean people during the period of resistance to Japan, which the Minister of Strategy and Finance announces, from KIC’s investment targets, so that the investment can be made in line with national sentiment (Article 31 (2) newly inserted).

The purpose and method of asset management (Article 31)