[Exclusive] National Pension Service hides fund names, but real names remain in hidden Excel sheets

It was confirmed on the 21st that internal information presumed to include real names, investment balances, and audit directives for non-public funds had been concealed solely within hidden sheets without encryption in an Excel file attached to a National Pension Service disclosure document. The National Pension Service has previously refrained from disclosing fund names, citing lack of consent from asset managers and the sensitivity of investment information. However, controversy is expected given that anyone could actually verify the capital contribution details of non-public funds.

The hidden sheets contained real name information, contracted amounts, and contract dates, and were in a state where anyone who downloaded the disclosure file could unhide them to access the information. While stating they could not confirm authenticity, the National Pension Service side announced that it would treat the hidden sheets as non-public in the disclosure documents.

On this day, an analysis by MoneyToday of the Excel file titled "Infrastructure Investment Status by Ticker (Fund)" disclosed on the National Pension Service website (as of year-end 2023, 2024, and 2025) revealed that each file contained seven hidden sheets. It was also confirmed that the "Real Estate Investment Status by Ticker (Fund)" files as of year-end 2023 and 2024 contained two hidden sheets per file.

Unhiding the work sheets reveals a sheet next to disclosure aliases such as "Infrastructure 1" showing real names and investment balances, raising concerns that the National Pension Service's market positions may have been directly exposed domestically and internationally.

Comparing the hidden sheets from the year-end 2023 disclosure to the year-end 2025 disclosure reveals real names of private equity and real estate-related investment projects estimated at 4 trillion to 5 trillion won (based on investment balances in disclosures from 2023 to 2025) for infrastructure investments. Domestic private roads such as Seoul Expressway, Busan-Ulsan Expressway, and Ilsan Bridge, as well as funds from overseas asset managers like Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Blackstone, were all listed by real name.

The hidden sheets also included internal materials such as "Infrastructure Investment Department Portfolio Status (December 2023)." The internal-use materials listed contracted amounts, contract dates, and even responsible teams for 230 projects. The hidden columns in the disclosure sheet as of year-end 2023 listed 30 internal code names for overseas projects. The "Remarks" section of the hidden sheets even included the content: "For domestic direct projects, it is sensitive information, so start by covering it up." The notes column also contained the phrase: "Include the term 'sensitive information' (audit directive)."

The real estate hidden sheets listed the asset manager names and project names of domestic real estate funds marked as "Asset Manager Non-Consent" as-is. Names of large hotels invested in by domestic asset managers funded by the National Pension Service, along with domestic hotel redevelopment projects, were revealed.

Concerns are emerging that fund names and capital contribution details funded by the National Pension Service have been exposed essentially without filtration. A National Pension Service official stated, "Annual disclosures pertain to unhidden cells, etc., and since unhiding them could cause misunderstanding, we plan to process a correction," adding that regarding authenticity, they "cannot confirm."