Kim Juhyun: "Encouraging Voluntary Participation in 'Value Up' with Bold Incentives"

Financial Services Commission and Exchange Announce 'Corporate Value-Up Program'
Voluntary Listed Companies to Develop Corporate Value Enhancement Plans
Government to Provide Incentives for Shareholder Return Companies
Dedicated Organization Established for Mid- to Long-Term Implementation

Kim Ju-hyun, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

On the 26th, Kim Joo-hyun, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, emphasized the 'Corporate Value-Up Program' as "a measure to support the spread and establishment of a corporate culture where companies themselves respect shareholder value, in collaboration with related organizations such as the Korea Exchange."

Chairman Kim attended the 'Corporate Value-Up Support Measures Seminar for the Leap of the Korean Stock Market' held at the Korea Exchange in Yeouido, Seoul, in the morning, and stated, "We will present guidelines so that listed companies can voluntarily strive to enhance corporate value, and induce voluntary participation of companies through bold incentives."

He explained that "a 'Corporate Value Enhancement Plan Guideline' will be prepared and presented so that listed companies can autonomously establish, disclose, and implement mid- to long-term corporate value enhancement plans tailored to each company's characteristics, centered on the board of directors." The guideline consists of ① Current Diagnosis → ② Goal Setting → ③ Plan Establishment → ④ Implementation Evaluation and Communication.

Chairman Kim emphasized, "Various tax supports for corporate value enhancement and shareholder return expansion will be provided, along with tax administration support such as awards for excellent companies and preferential selection of exemplary taxpayers, preferential treatment in various evaluations, and joint IR benefits."

In addition, the government will support market evaluation and investment decisions for companies with excellent corporate value. Chairman Kim said, "We plan to develop the 'Korea Value-Up Index,' composed of companies with good profitability and market evaluation, and companies expected to enhance corporate value," adding, "Institutional and foreign investors will use it as a benchmark index, and related Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) will be listed so that the general public can easily invest in companies with excellent corporate value." It is also planned to reflect efforts to enhance corporate value in the Stewardship Code (active exercise of voting rights by institutional investors) so that institutional investors such as pension funds consider these efforts when making investment decisions.

The government will also establish a dedicated support system to operate the corporate value-up support measures in the mid- to long-term. Along with forming a dedicated department within the Korea Exchange and an external advisory group, an integrated website will be launched to provide information related to corporate value-up in a clear and organized manner.

Chairman Kim stated, "We will continuously carry out corporate consulting and education, promotion of companies' efforts and best practices, and communication such as meetings with listed companies centered on the dedicated support system."

The 'guideline' will be finalized in June after broadly collecting opinions from companies and market participants through the second seminar to be held in May. Detailed tasks for preparing incentives and establishing support systems will be steadily implemented so that prepared companies can participate from the second half of this year.

Chairman Kim reiterated, "Corporate value-up cannot be achieved in a short period by one or two measures," and added, "It is a task that companies, investors, and the government must continuously work on together with a mid- to long-term perspective."

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