Korea Value Up (3 Winners and 7 Losers Among KOSPI 200 Companies) In March and April 2025

• In this insight, we provide the details of the 10 most recent companies in KOSPI 200 that have announced their Corporate Value Up plans (April and March 2025).

• These 10 companies in KOSPI 200 that have announced their Corporate Value Up plans are down on average 1.3% versus KOSPI which is down 2% in the same period.

• Three companies that have outperformed KOSPI (since their Corporate Value Up report announcement) include Hanmi Semiconductor, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, and Samyang Foods.

Conclusion First

In this insight, we provide the details of the 10 most recent companies in KOSPI 200 that have announced their Corporate Value Up plans (April and March 2025), including their shareholder returns and financial targets. The main highlights are as follows:

• Slight outperformance - These 10 companies in KOSPI 200 that have announced their Corporate Value Up plans are down on average 1.3% (from their announcement dates to 21 April) versus KOSPI which is down 2% in the same period.

• 7 underperform/3 outperform - Despite the slight outperformance, seven of the stocks underperformed KOSPI and three outperformed KOSPI since their Corporate Value up announcements.

• 3 Outperformers - These three companies that have outperformed KOSPI include Hanmi Semiconductor (042700 KS), Hyundai Engineering & Construction (000720 KS), and Samyang Foods (003230 KS).

  • Among these companies, Hyundai E&C provided shareholder return plan that surprised on the upside.

  • Hanmi Semiconductor provided financial guidance that were much higher than current consensus estimates.

  • Samyang Foods emphasized its continued plans to aggressively expand facility build-out in China to meet greater demand overseas.

• Outperformance not significant - Overall, despite some sizeable outperformance such as the three companies mentioned above, there has not been enough sizeable outperformance among these 10 companies in KOSPI 200 that have announced their Corporate Value Up reports in March and April so far.

  • This suggests that the market tends to reward those companies (through higher share prices) that provide real positive changes to their shareholder returns and financial/operational plans.

  • As a result, investors need to be more selective in reviewing companies that have announced Corporate Value up reports.