Photo: National Pension Service in Jeonju. Credit: Public domain.
In 2018, the Wall Street Journal derided the National Pension Service 국민연금공단’s location in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do Province 전라북도 전주: “Wanted Chief investment officer to oversee more than half a trillion dollars in assets. … Tolerance for the smell of pigs and livestock manure essential.” Allianz, BlackRock and Goldman Sachs turn out not to mind the city as much as the WSJ: on March 12, BlackRock opened an office in Jeonju, as did Allianz on March 13, and Goldman on March 24.
Even in 2018, the WSJ’s characterization of Jeonju was slanderous. The historical city of 600k people, home city of the Lee royal family that oversaw the Joseon Dynasty 조선왕조, boasts beautiful traditional architecture and the world’s best Korean food. Even so, the NPS’s 2015 relocation to Jeonju, a move intended to promote balanced development outside of Seoul, initially met fierce resistance from South Korean financiers unwilling to move from a global metropolis to a quaint little town.
But if you build it, they will come. In the decade since its relocation, the NPS has grown into the world’s third-largest pension fund, with more than KRW 1.6 quintillion (USD 1.1t) in assets under management. With South Korea’s stock market booming (despite the recent downturn caused by the US-Iran War), Jeonju is emerging as a new financial hub, with 23 domestic and international investment banks to be in operation by the end of this year.
