Overview

• South Korea's Financial Services Commission announced the 'Corporate Value-up Program' to improve corporate governance and enhance stock market valuations.
• The program includes tax benefits and encourages companies to disclose valuation enhancement plans, aiming to tackle the 'Korea discount'.
• A new 'Korea Value-up Index' for institutional investors will be introduced, alongside ETFs tracking the index to aid retail investors.
• Analysts view the measures as positive but call for more detailed plans on increasing dividend payouts and stock buybacks.
• The reforms are part of a broader corporate reform plan that will continue until the 'Korea discount' issue is fully resolved.