Due to the implementation of the ‘Corporate Value Enhancement’ (value-up) program, stock buyback and cancellation amounts surged to record highs last year.
Korea Exchange announced on Jan. 8 that stock buyback and cancellation amounts have surged to record highs following the implementation of the ‘Corporate Value Enhancement’ (value-up) program.
Korea Exchange revealed that stock buyback amounts and cancellation amounts during 2025, the second year of the program implementation, recorded 20.1 trillion won (approximately $13.9 billion) and 21.4 trillion won respectively.
This represents more than double the figures from 2023 before the program implementation (8.2 trillion won in buybacks and 4.8 trillion won in cancellations), and a significant increase from last year (18.8 trillion won in buybacks and 13.9 trillion won in cancellations).
Korea Exchange reported that companies’ cash dividend amounts also continuously expanded from 43.1 trillion won in 2023 to 45.8 trillion won in 2024 and 50.9 trillion won in 2025, showing the spread of shareholder-friendly management culture.
By the end of last year, 174 listed companies (171 main disclosures and 3 preliminary disclosures) had made corporate value enhancement plan disclosures. 130 KOSPI-listed companies and 41 KOSDAQ-listed companies made disclosures.
Particularly, 59 companies were continuously expanding communication with investors by submitting periodic disclosures that examine the performance and implementation status of corporate value enhancement efforts following their initial disclosures.
The proportion of value-up disclosure listed companies in the entire market was calculated at 44.5% as of the end of last year. Particularly, Korea Exchange revealed that KOSPI disclosure companies account for 50.2% of the securities market capitalization.
Among the 171 companies that made disclosures, 79 companies also submitted English disclosures for foreign investors.
Meanwhile, the Korea Value-up Index, composed mainly of companies with excellent corporate value, rose 89.4% during 2025, closing at a record high of 1,797.52. This figure exceeded the KOSPI index growth rate (75.6%) during the same period by 13.8 percentage points.
The value-up exchange-traded fund (ETF) also recorded net asset value of 1.3 trillion won as of the end of 2025, representing a 162.5% increase compared to its establishment, and the annual average foreign investor trading value proportion increased from 9.1% to 18.8%.
Korea Exchange reported that major indicators of the domestic stock market, including price-to-book ratio (PBR) and price-to-earnings ratio (PER), also improved significantly compared to the previous year, confirming the phenomenon of alleviating the ‘Korea Discount’ (chronic undervaluation of the Korean stock market).
According to the exchange, the PBR and PER of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Korea Index as of the end of 2025 were calculated at 1.59 times and 17.47 times respectively.
The recent 10-year averages were 1.09 times and 14.32 times, and undervaluation had intensified to 0.88 times and 11.37 times in 2024, but such problems appear to have been considerably improved as a result of the domestic stock market’s bull run continuing from the second half of last year.
Korea Exchange emphasized that it plans to continue promoting the corporate value enhancement program this year to ensure smooth implementation of the government’s capital market revitalization policies and establishment of a culture that respects shareholder value.
First, in the first quarter, it will revise the ‘Corporate Value Enhancement Plan Guidelines and Value-up Excellent Company Selection Guidelines’ to reflect major contents of Commercial Act amendments including fiduciary duties to shareholders, and in May, it will select excellent companies targeting companies that disclosed corporate value enhancement plans last year.
Additionally, Korea Exchange reported that starting from the regular review in June, it plans to compose indices centered on companies that have implemented corporate value enhancement plan disclosures according to the phased index composition plan centered on value-up disclosure companies.
