As the Korea value-up index hit a record high, money is also flowing quickly into related exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The Korea Exchange (KRX) plans to draw up selection criteria and a disclosure method this month for corporations with low price-to-book ratios (PBRs) to encourage voluntary efforts to boost corporate value (value-up).
According to the "June 2026 monthly status of corporate value enhancement" that the Korea Exchange (KRX) released on the 7th, the Korea value-up index reached 4,276.72 on the 22nd of last month, setting a new record high since its calculation began. Since the index launch at the end of Sep. 2024, it has risen 331%, outpacing KOSPI's gain over the same period by 79.6 percentage points.
Interest in value-up investing is also expanding. The net assets of 13 ETFs tracking the value-up index totaled 4.2 trillion won as of the end of June. That is up 762% compared with their initial launch in Nov. 2024.
Corporations' value-up disclosures are also steadily increasing. Last month, 12 listed companies newly disclosed their plans to enhance corporate value, bringing the cumulative number of disclosing corporations to 741. There are 347 KOSPI-listed companies and 394 KOSDAQ-listed companies.
The market capitalization of disclosing corporations was about 6,361 trillion won, accounting for 85.5% of the total market cap of all listed companies. In particular, on KOSPI, disclosing corporations accounted for 89.4% of market capitalization.
Periodic disclosures covering progress since initial announcements also continued. With additional filings last month by KoMiCo, Kiwoom Securities, Nongshim and Orion, the cumulative number of corporations making periodic disclosures rose to 116.
Shareholder return policies are also continuing. Mirae Asset Securities decided last month to buy back 300 billion won worth of its own shares, and Pearl Abyss disclosed it would cancel 17.3 billion won of treasury shares and enter into a trust agreement to buy back 100 billion won of treasury shares. The exchange noted that share buybacks and cancellations, as well as cash dividends, have steadily increased over the past three years, and shareholder returns following value-up disclosures are continuing.
The exchange also plans this month to establish a system to separately select and disclose low-PBR corporations. The aim is to encourage corporations with low PBRs to draw up plans to enhance corporate value and expand shareholder return policies.
An exchange official said, "We will finalize detailed measures in July, including the selection criteria and disclosure method for low-PBR corporations, and prepare related guidelines," and added, "We will continue to support corporations' voluntary efforts to enhance corporate value."