KAIQA calls for flexible digital asset rules, broader institutional participation Seo Won-joo, chief investment officer of the National Pension Service, delivers remarks at Asia Asset Management’s 11th Korea Roundtable in Seoul on Wednesday.(Yonhap) South Korea's National Pension Service said Wednesday that uncertainty in global financial markets remains elevated despite the pension fund posting a third straight year of record-breaking returns.Speaking at Asia Asset Management’s 11th Korea Roundtable in Seoul, Seo Won-joo, chief investment officer of the NPS, said market volatility has intensified this year amid geopolitical tensions, rising protectionism and rapid advances in artificial intelligence.“The NPS recorded an annual return of 18.82 percent last year, marking a third consecutive year of record-breaking performance,” Seo said. “However, uncertainties surrounding the global economy and financial markets remain high.”Seo said the pension fund would continue strengthening risk management while upgrading its investment framework and infrastructure.The NPS also plans to expand its total portfolio approach beyond alternative investments to include domestic and overseas equities and bonds. The fund is additionally upgrading its cloud-based overseas investment platform linking offices in London, New York, San Francisco and Singapore with headquarters in Korea.The conference also featured discussions on digital assets and AI-driven investment strategies.Kim Hong-gon, head of the Korea AI Quant Professionals Association, said Korea’s Virtual Asset User Protection Act has established “minimum safeguards” for the digital asset market, while calling for more flexible regulations aligned with global standards.Kim said broader institutional participation could help reduce volatility in the crypto market and expand multi-asset investment opportunities, while warning about risks spilling over into the traditional financial system.He also said won-based stablecoins could emerge as key infrastructure connecting payments, tokenized securities and central bank digital currencies, adding that AI-powered quantitative investing and direct indexing could become new growth drivers for the digital asset market.