"Now a High-Dividend Listed Company" Samsung Electronics to Pay 1.3 Trillion Won in Special Dividend for Q4

[The Financial News] Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. announced on the 29th that it will pay a special dividend of 1.3 trillion won based on the settlement of last year’s fourth quarter.
Since 2024, Samsung Electronics has been paying cash dividends of about 2.45 trillion won per quarter, totaling 9.8 trillion won annually. With the newly announced special dividend, the dividend for last year’s fourth quarter will increase to around 3.75 trillion won. On a full-year 2025 basis, the total dividend payout is expected to reach 11.1 trillion won.
As a result, the dividend per share for last year’s fourth quarter will rise from 363 won for 2024 to 566 won for 2025. Over the same period, the total annual dividend per share will increase from 1,446 won to 1,668 won.
The company explained that this move goes beyond its previously promised dividend scale to further enhance shareholder returns. It also said the decision is intended to align with the government’s policies to boost shareholder value, including the introduction of separate taxation on dividend income.
In particular, Samsung Electronics has achieved a dividend payout ratio of 25.1%, thereby meeting the government’s criteria for high-dividend listed companies. To be classified as a high-dividend listed company, a firm must ensure that its cash dividend does not decline from the previous year, and must either have a payout ratio of at least 40%, or a payout ratio of at least 25% with the total dividend amount increasing by 10% or more year-on-year. As of June 30, 2025, Samsung Electronics has about 5,049,000 retail shareholders, who are expected to benefit from both higher dividend income and tax advantages through the special dividend.
Samsung Electronics has steadily expanded shareholder returns through dividends as well as share repurchases and cancellations. From 2014 to 2024, its cash dividends totaled 94.6271 trillion won, accounting for 27.9% of all dividends paid by companies listed on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) over the same period. Extending the period through the third quarter of last year, cumulative cash dividends reach 101.9816 trillion won.
In 2018, when semiconductor earnings surged during an industry boom, the company doubled its total dividend compared with the previous year. It then pledged to maintain dividends at the 2018 level for 2019–2020, which increased the predictability of its dividend policy.
Beyond dividends, Samsung Electronics is also conducting share buybacks and cancellations. Between November 2024 and September 2025, it plans to repurchase shares worth a total of 10 trillion won, cancel 8.4 trillion won of that amount, and use the remainder for employee compensation.
one1@fnnews.com Reporter Jeong Won-il Reporter