KSD: "To Receive Dividends from December Fiscal Year-End Corporations, Transactions Must Be Completed by the 26th"

Investors who wish to exercise voting rights at the regular shareholders' meeting or receive dividends from listed companies with a December fiscal year-end must purchase the stocks of the respective listed companies by the 26th of this month.

According to the year-end stock investor precautions released by the Korea Securities Depository on the 20th, to exercise voting rights at the fiscal year-end shareholders' meeting, the stocks must be held until the end of this year. Since settlement occurs two business days after the purchase date, stocks must be purchased by the 26th to settle on the last business day of the year, the 28th. Stocks purchased on the 27th will be settled on January 2nd of next year.

Shareholders holding physical stock certificates must electronically register or transfer the ownership of the certificates to their securities company account under their name by the 29th to exercise voting rights and dividend claims at the regular shareholders' meeting. If the physical stock certificates are subject to electronic registration, the shareholder must submit their ID, securities company account statement, physical stock certificates, and proof of rights to the transfer agent by the morning of the 29th. If the final registered owner on the back of the physical stock certificate is not the shareholder, documents proving lawful acquisition of the certificates before conversion to electronic securities, such as sales contracts or delivery confirmations, must also be submitted. Since the implementation of the electronic securities system in 2019, physical stock certificates for electronically registered stocks have lost their validity and cannot be transferred; only electronic registration to the shareholder’s securities account under their name is possible. For physical stock certificates not subject to electronic registration, shareholders must visit the transfer agent by the 29th to transfer ownership or visit a nearby securities company branch to deposit the certificates into their securities account by the 28th.

Shareholders who have changed their address must register or update their current address by the 29th to ensure accurate receipt of notices such as the shareholders' meeting convening notice and dividend payment notice. Shareholders holding stocks through securities accounts can request an address change with their securities company, while those holding stocks directly without securities account transactions can apply for an address change via the Korea Securities Depository’s securities agency website. However, address changes cannot be applied for after the record date for the shareholder register, and thus cannot affect notices for the shareholders' meeting or dividend payments based on that record date.

In particular, if the issuing company has amended its articles of incorporation to set a separate dividend record date, investors must confirm the dividend record date through public disclosure and purchase stocks at least two business days before the dividend record date for the fiscal year-end dividend.