2298 Listed Companies Hold Regular General Meetings... Joint Support Program by Related Agencies Underway

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The Korea Financial Investment Association announced on the 18th that it will jointly prepare and systematically support a shareholder meeting support program with six related organizations, including the Korea Exchange, Korea Securities Depository, Korea Listed Companies Association, KOSDAQ Association, and KONEX Association, to facilitate the regular general meetings of shareholders of listed companies scheduled for March.

This year, a total of 2,298 companies will hold shareholder meetings, including 776 companies on the KOSPI market, 1,376 companies on the KOSDAQ, and 146 companies on KONEX. In particular, from this shareholder meeting onward, measures to enhance the substance of shareholder meetings and improvements to the 5% rule system, which have been promoted since last year, will be applied.

Accordingly, to ensure smooth establishment of shareholder meetings, electronic voting will be activated, and small shareholders will be able to easily attend the meetings. Last month, the Korea Securities Depository sent guidebooks on the electronic voting system, its usage, and the effects of electronic voting to all listed companies to expand the use of electronic voting. During this regular shareholder meeting period, it has decided to waive fees for using electronic voting and electronic proxies.

Additionally, the Korea Financial Investment Association explained that it will expand electronic voting management institutions to create an environment where companies can more easily adopt the electronic voting system. The electronic voting service, which was previously provided only by the Korea Securities Depository and Mirae Asset Daewoo, will now also be available through Samsung Securities and Shinhan Financial Investment this year. Especially, from this regular shareholder meeting onward, Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor Group (from 3 companies to a total of 12 companies) have announced their intention to introduce the electronic voting system, so an increase in electronic voting participation is expected this year.

The Korea Exchange, Korea Listed Companies Association, and KOSDAQ Association announced that they will operate a decentralized program in which listed companies voluntarily participate to improve the situation where shareholder meetings are concentrated in specific periods, making attendance difficult. According to statistical analysis by the Listed Companies Association, the expected peak shareholder meeting dates are March 13, 20, 26, and 27, while the KOSDAQ Association expects March 20, 25, 26, 27, and 30.

If a shareholder meeting is not held on the expected peak dates, incentives such as additional points when selecting excellent disclosure companies will be provided.

Furthermore, they emphasized that a 'Shareholder Meeting Help Desk' will be operated to promptly respond to inquiries related to shareholder meetings from listed companies.