South Korean Companies Face Evolving Shareholder Activism in 2025 | Be Korea-savvy

South Korean Companies Face Evolving Shareholder Activism in 2025


The surge in shareholder proposals at South Korean companies over the past five years is showing signs of stabilization in 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)

The surge in shareholder proposals at South Korean companies over the past five years is showing signs of stabilization in 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)

SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — The surge in shareholder proposals at South Korean companies over the past five years is showing signs of stabilization in 2025 as corporations adopt proactive measures to address investor demands, according to a recent report.

The Ajou Corporate Management Research Institute’s newly released “2025 Annual General Meeting Preview” reveals that the number of companies targeted by shareholder proposals rose 32% from 31 in 2020 to 41 in 2024. Proposal items increased by 40% over the same period, jumping from 110 in 2020 to 154 in 2024.

However, both the number of targeted companies and proposal items slightly declined in 2024 compared to their peak in 2023, when 47 companies faced 165 proposals. Despite this dip, the approval rate for shareholder proposals notably climbed. In 2024, 36.6% of companies had at least one proposal approved, up from 21.7% in 2023. The proposal approval rate also rose from 16.4% to 21.4%.

The institute attributes this trend to companies’ proactive responses to shareholder activism. Notable examples include Taekwang Industrial and DB HiTek, which introduced five-year ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management plans in response to governance improvement demands from Truston Asset Management and KCGI Asset Management.

The report anticipates that activism from funds focused on enhancing shareholder value will continue to grow in 2025. Highlighted campaigns include Align Partners’ opposition to Doosan’s business restructuring, as well as calls from activist hedge fund Pallas Capital and SK Square for greater shareholder returns.

Similarly, Must Asset Management and minority shareholder platform Act’s operator Conduit have pushed for expanded shareholder returns at Youngpoong Corp.

The institute emphasizes that as activist funds and minority shareholder groups intensify their efforts to improve corporate and shareholder value, corporate responses warrant close attention. Should companies maintain their proactive strategies, shareholder proposals in the 2025 annual general meetings are expected to remain steady or decrease compared to 2024.

However, the report cautions that if consensus between companies and investors is not reached, activist funds may increase the number of shareholder proposals.

Additionally, the institute advises close monitoring of voluntary shareholder return initiatives, corporate value improvement programs, and management disputes in 2025. Shareholder return policies, including dividend record date amendments and share buybacks or cancellations, are anticipated to dominate meeting agendas.

Management disputes, regardless of the outcome of acquisition attempts, are also expected to drive corporate governance reforms.

Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)

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