South Korea’s National Pension Service fund fell by 182 trillion won, or about 10%, to 1,684 trillion won at the end of July from 1,866 trillion won a month earlier, though it remained above 1,458 trillion won at the end of last year. Domestic equity valuations recorded the largest decline, falling 124 trillion won to 419 trillion won, while overseas equities dropped 37 trillion won to 624 trillion won. The fund’s annual return fell to 14.84% from 27.22% at the end of June, with domestic equities dropping to 60.11% from 107.37%. The decline reflected weakness in Korean stocks amid Middle East war uncertainty and inflation concerns, alongside volatility following the introduction of single-stock leveraged ETFs. Higher interest rates also weighed on bond valuations, while the National Pension Service said semiconductor strength supported domestic equity performance and technology stocks helped overseas equities.