Record High on July 15
Cash Dividends by Listed Companies Also on the Rise
The 'Korea Value-up Index', which was introduced in September last year with the mission of resolving the 'Korea Discount' (undervaluation of the Korean stock market), has risen by nearly 36% so far this year.
According to the 'Monthly Corporate Value Enhancement Status (July 2025)' report released by the Korea Exchange on August 4, the Value-up Index increased by 35.8% from the beginning of this year through last month. This figure slightly exceeds the 35.3% rise of the KOSPI Index over the same period. On July 15, the Value-up Index reached 1,306.37, marking its highest level since its introduction.
As of the end of last month, the total net asset value of the 12 Value-up Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) was 834.1 billion won, which is a 68.1% increase from the initial amount of 496.1 billion won at the time of their first establishment on November 4 last year.
The share prices of 158 companies that disclosed corporate value enhancement plans rose by an average of 33.8% from the beginning of this year to the end of July. During the same period, the average returns of companies that disclosed such plans in the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets outperformed their respective market indices by 2.5 percentage points and 1.4 percentage points, respectively.
With the revision of the Commercial Act and the implementation of policies to improve corporate governance becoming more tangible, the scale of shareholder returns, such as share buybacks and cancellations by listed companies, has continued to increase. By the end of last month, the total amount spent on share buybacks by listed companies was 16 trillion won, and the amount spent on share cancellations was 18.3 trillion won.
In particular, during July alone, listed companies spent 6.5 trillion won on share buybacks, with companies such as Samsung Electronics (3.91 trillion won) and Shinhan Financial Group (800 billion won) making active efforts to return value to shareholders.
By the end of last month, the total amount of cash dividends declared was 43.9 trillion won, representing an 11.3% increase compared to the same period last year (39.4 trillion won). In July, companies such as Samsung Electronics (2.45 trillion won), Hyundai Motor (650.7 billion won), KB Financial Group (335 billion won), and Shinhan Financial Group (276.7 billion won) announced dividends.
In July, two companies (Hana Financial Group and Doosan Bobcat) announced corporate value enhancement plans, bringing the total number of companies that made such disclosures between May 2024 and July 2025 to 158.
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