Seoul, June 9 (IANS) Corporate retirement pension funds grew nearly 13 percent from a year earlier in 2024, breaching the 400 trillion-won mark for the first time since their introduction in 2005, while their return on investment declined, data showed on Monday.

The total amount of corporate retirement pension funds under management came to 431.7 trillion won (US$317 billion) as of end-2024, up 49.3 trillion won, or 12.9 percent, from a year before, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service, reports Yonhap news agency.

The funds recorded an average return of 4.77 percent on their investments last year, down from the previous year’s 5.26 percent.

The funds’ average return on investment for the past five years came to 2.86 percent as of end-2024, with the 10-year average standing at 2.31 percent.

The corporate pension program was introduced in 2005, allowing employees to receive their pension in one lump-sum payment or monthly instalments after their retirement.

In 2024, out of some 573,000 people who received or began receiving payments from their corporate pension program, 13 percent chose monthly payments over a one-time payment.

The rate has been on a steady rise from 10.4 percent in 2023 and 7.1 percent in 2022.

Meanwhile, a majority of South Korean exporters recognise the need to employ artificial intelligence (AI) in their businesses to boost efficiency, but only a small fraction are actively utilising the technology, a survey showed on Monday.

According to the survey conducted from Feb. 17-19 by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), 78 percent of 396 respondents from the export industry said AI adoption is necessary, but only 16.9 percent said they are actively using AI to improve productivity or manage tasks.

Another 68.7 percent answered they are either using it on a limited basis or still reviewing its usage.

The poll showed that 21.9 percent of the companies that use AI utilise such services in marketing and branding, while 19.7 percent utilise AI in planning and product development.

Cost burdens and a shortage of skilled personnel were cited as the top hurdles in AI adoption, at 26.1 percent and 25.4 percent, respectively.

KITA noted a lack of refined data and related infrastructure for industrial AI use, and called for a phased approach in fostering the use of AI among exporters.

—IANS

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