According to the annual settlement for December last year, the total dividends paid by 1,190 listed companies (on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets) that conducted cash dividends (including simultaneous stock and cash dividends) amounted to 32.2946 trillion won, representing a 9.6% increase compared to the previous year.
On June 5, the Korea Securities Depository reported that listed companies on the KOSPI market (575 companies) paid 30.0021 trillion won in dividends, an increase of 9.2% from the previous year, while listed companies on the KOSDAQ market (615 companies) paid 2.2925 trillion won, up 15.1% year-on-year. This increase in dividends occurred despite the fact that, as of the end of the year, the stock indices for both the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets had declined by 9.6% and 21.7%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
By industry, the largest amount of dividends was paid by the automobile engine and automobile manufacturing sector, totaling 4.1263 trillion won (12.8%). This was followed by the semiconductor manufacturing sector with 3.8475 trillion won (11.9%), and holding companies with 3.3581 trillion won (10.4%).
By market, the company that paid the largest dividend to shareholders in the KOSPI market was Kia, with 2.5589 trillion won, while in the KOSDAQ market it was HPSP, with 48.2 billion won.
The top 10 dividend-paying companies in the KOSPI market distributed a total of 11.0972 trillion won, accounting for 37% of the total KOSPI market dividends (30.0021 trillion won).
The top 10 dividend-paying companies in the KOSDAQ market distributed a total of 262.3 billion won, representing 11.4% of the total KOSDAQ market dividends (2.2925 trillion won).
By shareholder type, domestic corporations received the highest proportion, collecting 13.4121 trillion won (41.6%), an increase of 2.0855 trillion won (18.4%) compared to the previous year. Foreign investors received 9.7951 trillion won (30.3%), up 451.8 billion won (4.8%), while domestic individual investors received 9.0874 trillion won (28.1%), an increase of 286.2 billion won (3.3%).
By age group, among individual shareholders, those in their 50s and 60s received 58.1% of the total dividends paid to domestic individuals. Shareholders in their 50s received the highest proportion at 2.965 trillion won (32.6%), followed by those in their 60s with 2.3192 trillion won (25.5%), those aged 70 and above with 1.763 trillion won (19.4%), and those in their 40s with 1.3518 trillion won (14.9%).
The number of companies paying dividends to foreign shareholders was 1,190, an increase of 4 companies compared to the previous year. The total amount of dividends paid to foreign shareholders was 9.7951 trillion won, an increase of 451.8 billion won (4.8%). In the KOSPI market, 575 companies paid 9.5472 trillion won in dividends, while in the KOSDAQ market, 615 companies paid 247.9 billion won in dividends.
By market, the company that paid the largest dividend to foreign shareholders in the KOSPI market was Samsung Electronics, with 1.2771 trillion won, while in the KOSDAQ market it was Leeno Industrial, with 16.6 billion won. By nationality, U.S. investors received the largest amount of dividends among foreign shareholders, totaling 4.2457 trillion won (43.3% of total foreign dividends), followed by the United Kingdom with 1.0553 trillion won, and Luxembourg with 555.5 billion won.
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