KOSPI Cash Dividends Surpass 30 Trillion Last Year... Highest Dividend Yield in 5 Years

565 Companies Paid Cash Dividends
Value-Up Disclosed Firms Account for 60% of Total Dividends

Cash dividends paid to shareholders last year by December fiscal year-end listed companies on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) market surpassed 30 trillion won. The average dividend yield also reached its highest level in five years.

According to the Korea Exchange on the 16th, among 807 December fiscal year-end KOSPI-listed companies, 565 companies (70%) paid cash dividends, totaling 30.3451 trillion won. This represents an approximately 10% increase compared to 2023 (27.4525 trillion won), with the average dividend per corporation rising from 49.2 billion won to 53.7 billion won. The number of companies that have paid dividends for more than five consecutive years was counted at 454.

The view of the Korea Exchange Seoul Office.

In particular, the average dividend yield for common and preferred stocks last year was 3.05% and 3.70%, respectively, both the highest in the past five years. Over the last five years, the average dividend yield by industry was highest in finance (3.80%), followed by electricity and gas (3.61%), and telecommunications (3.49%).

The dividend payout ratio of dividend-paying companies last year was 34.74%, up 0.43 percentage points from 34.31% the previous year. Although the stock prices of companies that paid cash dividends fell by an average of 5.09% last year, they outperformed the KOSPI’s return of -9.63% during the same period.

Notably, companies participating in value-up (corporate value enhancement) showed remarkable dividend performance. Among 105 December fiscal year-end companies that disclosed value-up, more than 95% (100 companies) paid dividends, with these companies distributing a total of 18 trillion won in dividends, accounting for 59.2% of the total KOSPI cash dividends. The dividend payout ratio of value-up disclosed companies last year was 40.95%, exceeding the average of all cash dividend-paying companies.

The Korea Exchange stated, "Despite worsening business conditions such as high interest rates and rising exchange rates, many listed companies appear to be striving to return profits to shareholders and maintain stable dividend policies." It added, "In particular, value-up disclosed companies have been confirmed to lead efforts to enhance corporate value and revitalize the domestic stock market through higher shareholder returns compared to all dividend-paying companies."

Meanwhile, on the KOSDAQ, 612 companies paid a total of 2.313 trillion won in cash dividends. The number of dividend-paying companies slightly increased from 607 in 2023, marking a record high. The dividend amount also rose by 260.3 billion won (12.7%) compared to the previous year (2.0527 trillion won). The number of companies paying dividends for five consecutive years was counted at 402. The average dividend payout ratio of KOSDAQ dividend-paying companies reached its highest level in five years at 34.4%. The average dividend yield was 2.529%. The average stock price return of dividend-paying companies last year was -13.0%, showing better performance compared to the KOSDAQ’s return of -21.7% during the same period.