NPORT-EX 2 NPORT_5664002691787637.htm HTML

Schedule of Investments

The Korea Fund, Inc.

September 30, 2020 (unaudited)

 

Shares            Value^  

COMMON STOCK—97.0%

  

Air Freight & Logistics—1.1%

  
    15,728      Hyundai Glovis Co., Ltd.    $ 1,933,849  
       

 

 

 

Auto Components—2.4%

  
    21,783      Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd.      4,273,472  
       

 

 

 

Automobiles—7.7%

  
    71,626      Hyundai Motor Co.      10,910,079  
    68,360      Kia Motors Corp.      2,741,368  
       

 

 

 
          13,651,447  
       

 

 

 

Banks—3.6%

  
    56,329      Hana Financial Group, Inc.      1,353,195  
    81,721      KB Financial Group, Inc.      2,631,415  
    99,489      Shinhan Financial Group Co., Ltd.      2,334,068  
       

 

 

 
          6,318,678  
       

 

 

 

Biotechnology—4.6%

  
    23,163      Celltrion, Inc. (e)      5,095,026  
    20,037      Hugel, Inc. (e)      3,122,677  
       

 

 

 
          8,217,703  
       

 

 

 

Capital Markets—1.2%

  
    35,388      Korea Investment Holdings Co., Ltd.      2,187,132  
       

 

 

 

Chemicals—7.2%

  
    42,710      Kumho Petrochemical Co., Ltd.      4,006,770  
    14,149      LG Chem Ltd.      7,897,545  
    16,749      OCI Co., Ltd.      812,057  
       

 

 

 
          12,716,372  
       

 

 

 

Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components—4.6%

  
    4,395      LG Innotek Co., Ltd.      579,998  
    15,493      Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd.      1,836,064  
    15,472      Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.      5,715,641  
       

 

 

 
          8,131,703  
       

 

 

 

Entertainment—2.7%

  
    1,452      Big Hit Entertainment Co., Ltd. (c)(d)(e)      167,610  
    6,724      NCSoft Corp.      4,633,731  
       

 

 

 
          4,801,341  
       

 

 

 

Food & Staples Retailing—0.4%

  
    6,380      E-MART, Inc.      770,839  
       

 

 

 

Healthcare Providers & Services—0.4%

  
    8,660      Celltrion Healthcare Co., Ltd. (e)      649,605  
       

 

 

 

Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure—0.4%

  
    40,808      Kangwon Land, Inc.      750,252  
       

 

 

 

Household Durables—0.7%

  
    14,684      LG Electronics, Inc.      1,150,240  
       

 

 

 

Industrial Conglomerates—2.6%

  
    5,212      LG Corp.      330,930  
    34,344      Samsung C&T Corp.      3,082,149  
    6,939      SK Holdings Co., Ltd.      1,171,608  
       

 

 

 
          4,584,687  
       

 

 

 

Insurance—1.0%

  
    17,516      DB Insurance Co., Ltd.      676,936  
    20,241      Samsung Life Insurance Co., Ltd.      1,056,349  
       

 

 

 
          1,733,285  
       

 

 

 

Interactive Media & Services—10.7%

  
    73,810      AfreecaTV Co., Ltd.      3,698,299  
    16,882      Kakao Corp.      5,249,518  
    39,637      NAVER Corp.      10,072,600  
       

 

 

 
          19,020,417  
       

 

 

 


Shares            Value^  

Life Sciences Tools & Services—0.6%

  
    1,898      Samsung Biologics Co., Ltd. (a)(e)      1,118,942  
       

 

 

 

Metals & Mining—2.8%

  
    2,792      Korea Zinc Co., Ltd.      901,097  
    24,506      POSCO      4,102,639  
       

 

 

 
          5,003,736  
       

 

 

 

Multi-Line Retail—0.4%

  
    4,344      Shinsegae, Inc.      785,993  
       

 

 

 

Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels—2.9%

  
    43,121      SK Innovation Co., Ltd.      5,110,526  
       

 

 

 

Personal Products—3.8%

  
    5,495      LG Household & Health Care Ltd.      6,781,133  
       

 

 

 

Pharmaceuticals—1.0%

  
    6,073      SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (e)      812,676  
    17,685      Yuhan Corp.      971,267  
       

 

 

 
          1,783,943  
       

 

 

 

Road & Rail—2.1%

  
    24,235      CJ Logistics Corp. (e)      3,674,674  
       

 

 

 

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment—7.7%

  
    41,788      ITM Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (e)      2,068,328  
    184,970      Seoul Viosys Co., Ltd.      3,002,858  
    120,626      SK Hynix, Inc.      8,646,798  
       

 

 

 
          13,717,984  
       

 

 

 

Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals—24.4%

  
    870,320      Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.      43,206,277  
       

 

 

 

Total Common Stock (cost-$107,129,603)

     172,074,230  
       

 

 

 

PREFERRED STOCK—2.3%

  

Chemicals—2.0%

  
    12,634      LG Chem Ltd.      3,450,110  
       

 

 

 

Personal Products—0.3%

  
    990      LG Household & Health Care Ltd.      598,181  
       

 

 

 

Total Preferred Stock (cost-$3,048,458)

     4,048,291  
       

 

 

 

Total Investments (cost-$110,178,061) (b)(f)—99.3%

     176,122,521  
       

 

 

 

Other assets less liabilities—0.7%

     1,170,273  
       

 

 

 

Net Assets—100.0%

   $ 177,292,794  
       

 

 

 


 

Notes to Schedule of Investments:

 

^

Portfolio securities and other financial instruments for which market quotations are readily available are valued at market value. Market values for various types of securities and other instruments are determined on the basis of closing prices or last sales prices on an exchange or other market, or based on quotes or other market information obtained from quotation reporting systems, established market makers or independent pricing services. For foreign equity securities (with certain exceptions, if any), the Fund fair values its securities daily using modeling tools provided by a statistical research service. This service utilizes statistics and programs based on historical performance of markets and other economic data (which may include changes in the value of U.S. securities or security indices). Investments in mutual funds are valued at the net asset value per share (“NAV”) as reported on each business day.

Portfolio securities and other financial instruments for which market quotations are not readily available (including in cases where available market quotations are deemed to be unreliable), are fair valued, in good faith, pursuant to procedures established by the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of The Korea Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”), or persons acting at their discretion pursuant to procedures established by the Board. The Fund’s investments are valued daily and the Fund’s NAV is calculated as of the close of regular trading (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) on each day the NYSE is open for business using prices supplied by an independent pricing service or broker/dealer quotations, or by using the last sale or settlement price on the exchange that is the primary market for such securities, or the mean between the last bid and ask quotations. In unusual circumstances, the Board or the Valuation Committee may in good faith determine the NAV as of 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time, notwithstanding an earlier, unscheduled close or halt of trading on the NYSE.

Short-term investments having a remaining maturity of 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost unless the Board or its Valuation Committee determines that particular circumstances dictate otherwise.

Investments initially valued in currencies other than the U.S. dollar are converted to the U.S. dollar using exchange rates obtained from pricing services. As a result, the NAV of the Fund’s shares may be affected by changes in the value of currencies in relation to the U.S. dollar. The value of securities traded in markets outside the United States or denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar may be affected significantly on a day that the NYSE is closed. The prices used by the Fund to value securities may differ from the value that would be realized if the securities were sold and these differences could be material.

 

(a)

144A—Exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, typically only to qualified institutional buyers. Security with a value of $1,118,942, representing 0.6% of net assets.

 

(b)

Securities with an aggregate value of $175,142,235, representing 98.8% of net assets, were valued utilizing modeling tools provided by a third-party vendor.

 

(c)

Fair-Valued—Security with a value of $167,610, representing 0.1% of net assets.

 

(d)

Level 3 security.

 

(e)

Non-income producing.

 

(f)

At September 30, 2020, the cost basis of portfolio securities for federal income tax purposes was $110,775,454. Gross unrealized appreciation was $70,089,516; gross unrealized depreciation was $4,742,449; and net unrealized appreciation was $65,347,067. The difference between book and tax cost was attributable to wash sale loss deferrals.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (i.e., the “exit price”) in an orderly transaction between market participants. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:

 

   

Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical investments that the Fund has the ability to access

 

   

Level 2 – valuations based on other significant observable inputs, which may include, but are not limited to, quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, interest rates, yield curves, volatilities, prepayment speeds, loss severities, credit risks and default rates or other market corroborated inputs

 

   

Level 3 – valuations based on significant unobservable inputs (including the Investment Manager’s or Valuation Committee’s own assumptions and securities whose price was determined by using a single broker’s quote)

The valuation techniques used by the Fund to measure fair value during the three months ended September 30, 2020 were intended to maximize the use of observable inputs and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs.

An investment asset’s or liability’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level input, individually or in aggregate, that is significant to the fair value measurement. The objective of fair value measurement remains the same even when there is a significant decrease in the volume and level of activity for an asset or liability and regardless of the valuation techniques used.


The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities. The following are certain inputs and techniques that the Fund generally uses to evaluate how to classify each major category of assets and liabilities within Level 2 and Level 3, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

An asset or liability for which market values cannot be measured using the methodologies described above is valued by methods deemed reasonable in good faith by the Valuation Committee, following the procedures established by the Board, to represent fair value. Under these procedures, the Fund generally uses a market-based approach which may use related or comparable assets or liabilities, recent transactions, market multiples, book values and other relevant information. Fair value determinations involve the consideration of a number of subjective factors, an analysis of applicable facts and circumstances and the exercise of judgment. As a result, it is possible that the fair value for a security determined in good faith in accordance with the Fund’s valuation procedures may differ from valuations for the same security determined by other funds using their own valuation procedures. Although the Fund’s valuation procedures are designed to value a security at the price the Fund may reasonably expect to receive upon the security’s sale in an orderly transaction, there can be no assurance that any fair value determination thereunder would, in fact, approximate the amount that the Fund would actually realize upon the sale of the security or the price at which the security would trade if a reliable market price were readily available.

Equity Securities (Common and Preferred Stock) — Equity securities traded in inactive markets and certain foreign equity securities are valued using inputs which include broker-dealer quotes, recently executed transactions adjusted for changes in the benchmark index, or evaluated price quotes received from independent pricing services that take into account the integrity of the market sector and issuer, the individual characteristics of the security, and information received from broker-dealers and other market sources pertaining to the issuer or security. To the extent that these inputs are observable, the values of equity securities are categorized as Level 2. To the extent that these inputs are unobservable, the values are categorized as Level 3.

A summary of the inputs used at September 30, 2020 in valuing the Fund’s assets and liabilities is listed below (refer to the Schedule of Investments for more detailed information on Investments in Securities):

 

    Level 1 -
Quoted Prices
    Level 2 -
Other Significant
Observable
Inputs
    Level 3 -
Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
    Value at
9/30/20
 

Investments in Securities—Assets

       

Common Stock:

       

Entertainment

    —       $ 4,633,731     $ 167,610     $ 4,801,341  

Pharmaceuticals

  $ 812,676       971,267       —         1,783,943  

All Other

    —         165,488,946       —         165,488,946  

Preferred Stock

    —         4,048,291       —         4,048,291  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Totals

  $ 812,676     $ 175,142,235     $ 167,610     $ 176,122,521  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

A roll forward of fair value measurements using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) for the three months ended September 30, 2020, was as follows:

 

     Beginning
Balance
6/30/20
     Purchases      Sales      Accrued
Discount
(Premiums)
     Net
Realized
Gain (Loss)
     Net Change
in Unrealized
Appreciation/
Depreciation
    Transfers
into
Level 3
     Transfers
out of
Level 3*
    Ending
Balance
9/30/20
 

Investments in Securities—Assets

 

Common Stock:

 

Entertainment

   $ —        $ 168,702      $ —        $ —        $ —        $ (1,092   $ —        $ —       $ 167,610  

Pharmaceuticals

     214,576        —          —          —          —          598,100       —          (812,676     —    
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Totals

   $ 214,576      $ 168,702      $ —        $ —        $ —        $ 597,008     $ —        $ (812,676   $ 167,610  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

The following tables present additional information about valuation techniques and inputs used for investments that are measured at fair value and categorized within Level 3 at September 30, 2020:

 

     Ending
Balance
at 9/30/20
     Valuation
Technique Used
     Unobservable
Inputs
   Input Values  

Investments in Securities—Assets

 

Common Stock

   $ 167,610        Market and Company Comparable      Expected Offer Price with High-Point of the
Range
     135,000 KRW  

 

*

Transferred out of Level 3 and into Level 1 because exchange traded price was available at September 30, 2020.

The net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of Level 3 investments which the Fund held at September 30, 2020 was $(1,092).