Yeouido’s financial district. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, August 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s top 100 publicly listed companies have significantly ramped up shareholder returns, with total payouts rising by more than 35% over the past two years, according to new data released Wednesday by corporate tracker CEO Score.
The report found that shareholder returns — including dividends and share buybacks — reached 45.58 trillion won ($35 billion) in 2023, up from 33.72 trillion won in 2022. The increase came as the combined market capitalization of the surveyed companies rose from 1,405 trillion won to 1,665 trillion won over the same period.
The ratio of shareholder returns to market cap edged up slightly, from 2.4% to 2.7%. While dividend payouts accounted for the majority of returns at 37.32 trillion won — up 17% from the previous year — their proportion of the total dropped from 94.6% to 81.9%. The shift reflects a surge in share buybacks, which jumped more than 350% to 8.26 trillion won.
KT&G led all firms with the highest shareholder return-to-market cap ratio at 10.0%, followed by Kiwoom Securities (9.1%), Woori Financial Group (9.0%), Samsung Securities (8.0%), and SK Telecom (8.0%). Six of the top ten companies with the highest return ratios were in the financial sector, underlining its aggressive return policies.
The bull statue installed in front of the Korea Exchange (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Conversely, 17 companies, including major players like Samsung Biologics, LG Energy Solution, Doosan Enerbility, and Kakao Pay, offered no shareholder returns in the same period.
HD Hyundai Electric saw the sharpest increase in per-share returns, up nearly tenfold from 500 won to 5,350 won — a 970.9% rise. S-Oil reported the largest decline, with returns dropping 97.9% from 5,501 won to just 126 won per share.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
