The Gender Equality Fund, Youth Development Fund, and Local Newspaper Development Fund have been recommended for “conditional continuation,” according to a recent evaluation. Meanwhile, experts have suggested that the Savings Encouragement Fund for Farmers and Fishermen should be abolished.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance reported these findings during a cabinet meeting on the 28th, presenting the “2025 Fund Evaluation Results.” The evaluation was conducted by a panel of private sector experts.
The evaluation distinguishes between the “Fund Continuation Evaluation,” which assesses the appropriateness of financial structures and the validity of fund continuation, and the “Fund Management Evaluation,” which examines the performance and appropriateness of surplus asset management.
In the Continuation Evaluation for 19 funds, the Savings Fund for Farmers and Fishermen was recommended for abolition. This recommendation was based on the current structure, which does not necessitate long-term management due to declining demand and reliance on annual expectations funded by general accounts and the Bank of Korea.
For the Gender Equality Fund, Youth Development Fund, and Local Newspaper Development Fund, which have struggled to achieve their initial objectives or have inefficient financial structures, a “conditional continuation” was advised, suggesting a search for diversified funding sources.
In the Management Evaluation of 27 funds, the scores improved to 73.7 from the previous year’s 72.1, indicating better asset management and higher relative returns on long-term assets. The Private School Teachers’ Pension Fund and Small and Medium Business Start-up and Promotion Fund achieved the highest “excellent” rating, with 15 funds rated as “outstanding” and 7 as “good.”
The National Pension Fund, separately evaluated due to its size, maintained its “good” rating from last year. Although its return rate outperformed the average of the top five global pension funds, relative returns against benchmarks slightly decreased, leading to a marginal drop in its score from 78.0 to 77.5.