December Fiscal Year-End Corporate Dividends 34.8 Trillion Won... 12 Trillion Won Surge from Previous Year 'Record High'

Foreign Shareholders 14.1349 Trillion KRW · Domestic Individual Shareholders 7.9397 Trillion KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] The total dividend payments by companies with December fiscal year-ends last year amounted to 34.8 trillion KRW. This represents an increase of over 12 trillion KRW compared to the previous year, marking the largest scale ever recorded. This surge is attributed to companies expanding dividends thanks to strong business performance. In particular, the increase in dividends from Samsung Electronics had a significant impact. Dividends paid to foreign shareholders increased by more than 70%.

According to the Korea Securities Depository on the 28th, among companies with December fiscal year-ends in 2020 (listed on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ), 1,093 companies paid cash dividends (including simultaneous dividends), which is 4 more companies than the previous year. The total dividend amount was 34.7827 trillion KRW, an increase of 12.23 trillion KRW (54.2%) compared to the previous year.

KOSPI market companies (539 companies) paid 33.028 trillion KRW (a 57.4% increase from the previous year), while KOSDAQ market companies (554 companies) paid 1.7547 trillion KRW (an 11.7% increase from the previous year).

In the KOSPI market, the dividend growth rate (57.4%) was higher than the stock index growth rate (30.8%) compared to the previous year. In the KOSDAQ market, the dividend growth rate (11.7%) was lower than the stock index growth rate (44.6%).

By industry, semiconductor manufacturing accounted for the highest proportion with 14.2305 trillion KRW (40.9%). This was followed by holding companies with 3.626 trillion KRW (10.4%), telecommunications with 1.194 trillion KRW (3.4%), and automobile engines and automobile manufacturing with 1.1872 trillion KRW (3.4%).

By shareholder type, foreigners received the largest share with 14.1349 trillion KRW (40.6%). Domestic corporations received 12.7081 trillion KRW (36.6%), and domestic individuals received 7.9397 trillion KRW (22.8%).

By age group among domestic individual shareholders, those aged 50 and above received 73.5% of the total dividend payments. The 50s age group received the highest amount at 2.2042 trillion KRW (27.7%), followed by those aged 70 and above with 1.9264 trillion KRW (24.3%), and those in their 60s with 1.7037 trillion KRW (21.5%).

A representative from the Korea Securities Depository explained, "The dividend amount of 34.7827 trillion KRW this year is the largest ever since related statistics began to be compiled in 2002," adding, "The biggest factor was Samsung Electronics significantly increasing its dividends from the 2 trillion KRW range last year to the 13 trillion KRW range this year."

Meanwhile, among companies with December fiscal year-ends in 2020, 1,090 companies paid dividends to foreign shareholders, which is 3 more companies than the previous year. The total dividend amount was 14.1349 trillion KRW, an increase of 6.012 trillion KRW (74.0%) compared to the previous year.

In the KOSPI market, 538 companies paid dividends totaling 13.9165 trillion KRW, an increase of 6.0202 trillion KRW (76.2%) from the previous year. In the KOSDAQ market, 552 companies paid dividends, 3 more than the previous year, but the dividend amount was 218.4 billion KRW, a decrease of 8.2 billion KRW (3.6%) compared to the previous year.

The proportion of dividends paid to foreign shareholders among total dividends of companies with December fiscal year-ends in 2020 was 40.6%, up 4.6 percentage points from the previous year. By market, the proportion of dividends paid to foreign shareholders in the KOSPI market rose 4.5 percentage points to 42.1%, while in the KOSDAQ market it fell 1.9 percentage points to 12.5%.

Looking at the scale of dividend payments, the total dividend amount increased by 54.2% compared to the previous year. Dividends paid to foreign shareholders also increased by 74.0%. The total dividend payments and dividends paid to foreign shareholders in the KOSPI market increased by 57.4% and 76.2%, respectively, compared to the previous year. In the KOSDAQ market, total dividend payments increased by 11.7%, but dividends paid to foreign shareholders decreased by 3.6% compared to the previous year.

The company that paid the most dividends to foreign shareholders in each market was Samsung Electronics with 7.5789 trillion KRW in the KOSPI market, and GS Home Shopping with 14.2 billion KRW in the KOSDAQ market. The top 10 companies in the KOSPI market paid a total of 10.5565 trillion KRW in dividends to foreign shareholders, accounting for 75.9% of the total foreign dividends in the KOSPI market (13.9165 trillion KRW). In the KOSDAQ market, the top 10 companies paid 84.6 billion KRW, accounting for 38.7% of the total foreign dividends in the KOSDAQ market (218.5 billion KRW).

The nationality of foreign shareholders who received the most dividends from companies with December fiscal year-ends last year was the United States with 6.2697 trillion KRW (44.4% of total dividends), followed by the United Kingdom with 1.0262 trillion KRW, and Luxembourg with 963.5 billion KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.