Korea reform

Korea’s government and main opposition party continue to push their respective stock market and corporate governance reform agendas. The vice-chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) appeared at several conferences in February to highlight the government’s continued commitment to “Value-up”. On one measure – share buybacks – Value-up is already proving to be a success, with Korean companies increasing buybacks by 72.8% year-on-year to $9.8 billion in 2024. However, both the FSC and Korea Exchange want to boost the number of listed firms releasing general Value-up plans beyond the current 114. ... more