Collection
The Korea discount
Institutional research on how Korean equities are valued, with notes on the Commercial Code amendments and market access.
8 documents
23 Jun 2026MacroMSCI Announces the Results of the MSCI 2026 Market Classification ReviewMSCI's release on its 2026 classification review, with a section on the market accessibility of Korea. It says investors report the underlying issues are not fully resolved, including that the won is not deliverable offshore, and that MSCI will keep monitoring implementation.MSCIPDF, 6 pp07 May 2026PolicyHeightened Directors' Fiduciary Duty to Minority Shareholders in KoreaA short client note on the amendment to Article 382-3 of the Commercial Code, which extends directors' duty of loyalty to shareholders, and on Ministry of Justice guidelines issued February 25, 2026. It looks at joint ventures and going-private transactions.Shin & KimPDF, 2 pp22 Apr 2026PolicyRegulatory Trends in Corporate GovernanceA public client note on the third Commercial Code amendment, promulgated March 6, 2026, which in principle requires companies to cancel acquired treasury shares within one year. It also covers wider governance disclosure, English-language disclosure and related changes for listed companies.Kim & ChangHTML24 Nov 2025MacroRepublic of Korea: 2025 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Republic of KoreaIMF Country Report No. 25/308, the latest Article IV review of Korea found, covering the outlook, risks and policy advice. It includes a section and table on reforms introduced in 2025 to reduce the Korea discount, including Commercial Act changes.International Monetary FundPDF, 101 pp30 Oct 2025PolicyPromulgation of September 9, 2025 Amendment to Korean Commercial Code and Additional Legal UpdatesA public client note on the second Commercial Code amendment, promulgated September 9, 2025 and scheduled to take effect September 10, 2026, starting with mandatory cumulative voting for large listed companies. It sets out practical considerations for companies preparing to comply.Kim & ChangHTML07 Feb 2025StudyRepublic of Korea: 2024 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Republic of KoreaIMF Country Report No. 25/41, included here for Annex VII, Corporate Value-Up Reform, which reviews the drivers of the Korea discount and the 2024 reforms. The 2025 report points back to this annex for that analysis.International Monetary FundPDF, 107 ppDec 2021StudyA Survey of Research on the Corporate Governance of Korean FirmsAn ECGI working paper by Woochan Kim, Woojin Kim and Kyung Suh Park that reviews research from 2011 to 2020 on the corporate governance of Korean firms. It is a guide to the academic evidence and to the institutional features that make Korea distinctive to study.European Corporate Governance InstitutePDF via listing page, 76 pp11 Nov 2019StudyThe Korea discount and chaebolsA university working paper testing the Korea discount on stocks from 28 countries over 2002 to 2016. It finds Korean stocks have significantly lower price-earnings ratios than global peers, then examines the role of chaebols.University of FribourgPDF, 41 pp