After the government fully launched the corporations value enhancement (value-up) program, the repurchase and cancellation of their own stocks by corporations more than doubled, and cash dividends increased by over 10%. The financial authorities have established a meeting body involving private experts to continuously advance the domestic capital market.
The Financial Services Commission announced that it held the 1st 'Capital Market Strategy Forum' on the afternoon of the 8th at the Government Seoul Building in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, chaired by Deputy Chairman Kim So-young. Participants in the meeting reviewed the status of policy implementation for capital market advancement and discussed the policy direction for the development of the capital market from a medium- to long-term perspective.
Attendees included the Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service, Korea Exchange, Korea Securities Depository, and Korea Financial Investment Association, as well as private experts such as Kim Mi-seop, CEO of Mirae Asset Securities, Jang Deok-soo, Chairman of DS Asset Management, Song In-jun, CEO of IMM Holdings, and Kim Jae-yoon, Deputy Representative of Samil Accounting Corporation. Additionally, experts from research institutions and academia also attended, including Lee Hang-yong, President of the Korea Institute of Finance, Kim Se-wan, President of the Capital Market Institute, Shin In-seok, Professor at Chung-Ang University, Jeong Soon-seob, Professor at Seoul National University's School of Law, Chae Jun, Professor at Seoul National University's Business School, and Kim Woo-jin, Professor at Seoul National University's Graduate School of Business, along with Lee Jun-seo, Professor at Dongguk University.
Deputy Chairman Kim So-young, who chaired the forum, noted, "There is a need to continue discussions to identify new tasks for the development of the capital market from a medium- to long-term perspective, which is why we established the Capital Market Strategy Forum," and said, "We have also established a new Capital Market Strategy Planning Division within the Financial Services Commission."
Deputy Chairman Kim stated that the reason the government has been pursuing the advancement of the capital market as a major policy task for several years is to build what is known as "a virtuous cycle of the capital market," where corporations raise funds in the capital market to grow, and citizens enjoy the results to accumulate assets and expand investments.
He added, "As a result of promoting capital market advancement policies centered on three directions: establishing a fair and transparent market order, enhancing capital market accessibility for domestic and foreign investors, and establishing shareholder value management, the number of corporations participating in the value-up program has steadily increased, and shareholder returns through stock buybacks and cancellations have also expanded."
According to the Financial Services Commission and the Korea Exchange, as of March 31 this year, a total of 131 corporations are participating in the corporations value-up program. This accounts for 5.1% of all listed companies in the KOSPI and KOSDAQ. The market capitalization of corporations listed in the securities market represents 46.1%.
From the second quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year, the amount of corporate stock repurchases reached 22.88 trillion won, an increase of 2.4 times compared to the same period last year, and stock cancellations amounted to 19.59 trillion won, increasing 2.3 times during the same period. Cash dividends totaled 48.35 trillion won, rising by about 11%.
The Financial Services Commission stated that it plans to continue its efforts to advance the capital market, including the corporations value-up program, the advancement of the financial investment industry, and the establishment of order in the capital market, while broadly gathering opinions from research institutions, academia, and market participants to continuously identify and supplement medium- to long-term tasks for asset formation for citizens and corporate growth.