iM Securities evaluated on the 2nd that SK will become the biggest beneficiary if the promises made in the 21st presidential election are fulfilled. iM Securities maintained a buy opinion on SK and a target price of 200,000 won.
Lee Jae-myung, a researcher at iM Securities, projected that SK's corporate value could rise based on the pledges revealed by the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party.
The researcher explained that the issue of discounts due to duplicate listings of subsidiaries, which is the biggest weakness of holding companies, could be improved. He noted that "in the restructuring process of holding companies and subsidiaries, rather than pursuing the original goal of enhancing corporate value, measures were often utilized to enhance the private interests of controlling shareholders, such as separation of affiliates, succession, strengthening control rights, and avoiding legal risks, leading to frequent principal-agent costs due to conflicts of interest with minority shareholders."
He added, "If the proposed amendments to the Commercial Act and the Capital Market Act, presented by the candidates of both parties in the presidential election, pass, the improvement of corporate governance through resolving conflicts of interest among shareholders is expected to lead to a reduction in discount rates, resulting in an increase in corporate value and benefits for holding companies like SK."
The mandatory cancellation of treasury stocks, which has emerged as a contentious issue, could also be a driving force for SK's stock price increase. Presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea has advocated for the principled cancellation of listed companies' treasury stocks. The proportion of SK's treasury shares is 24.8%.
The researcher stated, "For listed companies like SK with a large proportion of treasury shares, if the demands from shareholders regarding treasury stock policies increase, a certain level of cancellation can be expected."