Samsung Electronics to Cancel 16 Trillion Won in Treasury Shares... Boosting Shareholder Value in Line with Commercial Act Amendment

Following SK Corp., Korea’s Top Market Cap Company Samsung Joins Unprecedented Shareholder Return

Performance Incentive Stock Compensation Expanded to All Employees

With the third amendment to the Commercial Act making the cancellation of treasury shares mandatory, Samsung Electronics, Korea’s largest company by market capitalization, has decided to cancel treasury shares worth 16 trillion won during the first half of this year. Following SK Corp., which previously announced a cancellation of treasury shares worth more than 5 trillion won, Samsung Electronics has also embarked on an unprecedented shareholder return program, raising expectations that the longstanding undervaluation of the Korean stock market (value-up) may be resolved.

On the 5th, employees are arriving at Samsung Electronics' Seocho headquarters in Seoul as the company announced its provisional second-quarter performance with sales of 74 trillion won and an operating profit of 10.4 trillion won. This represents an earnings surprise-level performance, with increases of 23.31% and 1452.24% respectively compared to the same period last year. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

According to the 2025 business report disclosed by Samsung Electronics on March 10, the company plans to cancel 87 million shares out of the 105.43 million treasury shares it currently holds during the first half of this year. Based on the closing price of approximately 190,000 won per share on this day, this amounts to a substantial volume worth about 16 trillion won.

This decision is a proactive response to the intent of the amended Commercial Act, which mandates the cancellation of treasury shares, and is aimed at maximizing shareholder value. In November 2024, Samsung Electronics announced a plan to repurchase treasury shares worth a total of 10 trillion won, and in February 2025, the company entirely canceled the first repurchase tranche worth 3 trillion won, continuing its aggressive shareholder return policy.

Samsung Electronics has also significantly strengthened its stock compensation system to enhance transparency in corporate governance and encourage responsible management among executives and employees. The company has expanded the performance incentive (OPI) stock selection option, which was piloted for executives in 2024, to all employees starting this year.

As a result, employees can now choose to receive 0 to 50 percent of their performance bonuses in the form of stock, in 10 percent increments, instead of cash. This strategy is intended to link employees’ personal interests with the company’s stock price and growth, thereby encouraging contributions to the company’s long-term value increase.

Meanwhile, even as Samsung Electronics’ stock price has strengthened, the number of minority shareholders has dropped markedly, falling below the five million mark. As of the end of December last year, Samsung Electronics had 4,195,927 minority shareholders, representing an 18.7 percent decrease compared to the end of 2024, when there were 5,160,210.

This is interpreted as a result of a large number of individual investors realizing gains as the stock price rose, boosted by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom and improved company performance. Currently, minority shareholders account for 66.04 percent of Samsung Electronics’ total outstanding shares.

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