Exchange Holds 1st Anniversary Seminar for Value-Up... Commendation for 'Outstanding Companies' such as HD Hyundai Electric

[Financial News] 10 companies, including HD Hyundai Electric and KB Financial, received commendations for outstanding companies at the 1st anniversary event of the Value-Up program. Korea Exchange plans to expand support to allow small listed companies to participate in the Value-Up program and continue developing the Value-Up linked index. 
On the 27th, Korea Exchange announced that it held a seminar to commemorate the 1st anniversary of the Value-Up program in Yeouido, Seoul. The exchange selected 10 companies that faithfully established corporate value enhancement plans and actively communicated with shareholders among the 125 companies that completed disclosures by last March after the implementation of the Value-Up program, and commended them as outstanding companies. 
The Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Award was given to HD Hyundai Electric and KB Financial. The Financial Services Commission Chairman's Award was received by △Meritz Financial Group △Samyang Foods △KT&G. The Korea Exchange Chairman's Award was given to △Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance △Shinhan Financial Group △Hyundai Glovis △KT △SK Hynix.
On this day, Jeong Eun-bo, Chairman of the Exchange, said in his opening speech, "Since the implementation of the Value-Up program, companies accounting for half (49%) of the KOSPI market capitalization have participated in disclosures, showing meaningful changes that respect shareholder value, such as expanding shareholder returns," and added, "The exchange will continue to support the establishment of a culture that respects shareholder value in our capital market with a long-term perspective."
Kim Byung-hwan, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, emphasized in his congratulatory speech, "Companies should not change due to the market or regulatory authorities, but should first consider the voice of the market and pursue Value-Up in various ways, including expanding investment according to the characteristics of each company, not just shareholder returns," and added, "The market also needs to make efforts to evaluate companies' efforts from the perspective of 'sustainable corporate value enhancement' beyond a uniform viewpoint." 
On this day, the exchange published the Corporate Value-Up Program White Paper, which contains the progress of the Value-Up program implementation, the participation status of listed companies, disclosure content, market trends, and excellent disclosure cases.
According to the white paper, the average stock price return of Value-Up disclosing companies last year was 4.5%, showing a favorable stock price trend compared to the average stock price return of non-disclosing companies (-16.9%), which was 21.4%p higher. In addition, a survey conducted on 95 domestic and foreign institutional investors about the Value-Up program revealed that 93% of all respondents said they were "well aware of the Value-Up program," and 90% positively evaluated the goal of resolving the Korea discount. 
The international seminar commemorating the 1st anniversary of the Value-Up program held on this day was attended by domestic market participants such as Korea Exchange and National Pension Service, as well as market experts from Japan and Taiwan, who gave presentations on the main progress of corporate value enhancement policies in each country. Professor Park Sun-young of the Department of Economics at Dongguk University added, "The Value-Up program is not a one-time campaign but a project to rebuild trust in the Korean capital market," and "Through this, the Korean market can leap into an investment ecosystem that meets global standards, not just staying at domestic system improvements." nodelay@fnnews.com Park Ji-yeon Reporter