SEOUL/TOKYO -- Activist shareholders are becoming more vocal in South Korea, reflecting discontent with low price-to-book ratios (PBRs), as the key financial ratio of many South Korean companies does not break 1x -- lower than that of Japanese counterparts.
In the first half of 2023, 60 South Korean companies received shareholder proposals, an increase of around 50% from a year earlier, according to research company Insightia. Some proposals have led to dividend hikes, influencing the so-called "Korea discount," which values South Korean companies at a lower multiple to earnings than foreign peers.
