Hanwha Investment Keeps Hold on LG H&H, Cuts Target Price to 230,000 Won Hanwha Investment & Securities on Wednesday advised a cautious approach to LG Household & Health Care until its sales decline reverses, keeping its “hold” rating. It cut its target price to 230,000 won from 300,000 won. Analyst Han Yu Jeong said the company’s consolidated operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2025 was minus 72.7 billion won, far below the consensus estimate of 4.2 billion won, citing weakness across its Beauty, HDB and Refreshment divisions. On news of LG H&H’s acquisition of Torriden, Han said buying a Korean indie brand could be aimed at rebuilding the Beauty business, but added that further deals are not a priority given weak results from past M&A, including Boinca, The Crème Shop and AVON. “Reorganizing the current brand portfolio, channels, SKUs and fixed-cost structure to normalize profitability should come first,” he said. Han said labor and marketing costs reflected in 2025 are unlikely to be one-off items, and that restructuring-related expenses are likely to continue at least through the end of 2026. He added that Hanwha does not expect a return to normal profit levels through 2026 and therefore shifted the target-price valuation base to 2027 results.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-29 08:45:00

South Korea to Require English Disclosures for All KOSPI-Listed Companies Starting Next March Starting in May, the number of listed companies required to file disclosures in English will jump to 265 from 111. Disclosure items will expand and some deadlines will be shortened. To raise the KOSPI market’s international standing, South Korea will also move up the start of mandatory English disclosures for all KOSPI-listed companies to next March, more than a year earlier than planned. The Financial Services Commission said it approved revisions to the “Regulations on Issuance and Disclosure of Securities” and the Korea Exchange’s disclosure rules for the KOSPI, KOSDAQ and KONEX markets at a regular meeting on Tuesday. Under the revisions, companies subject to mandatory English disclosures will increase from 111 in the current first phase to 265 in the second phase. The first phase, introduced in 2024, applied to listed companies with assets of at least 10 trillion won and foreign ownership of at least 5%, or assets of at least 2 trillion won and foreign ownership of at least 30%. From May, the second phase will cover all KOSPI-listed companies with assets of at least 2 trillion won. The list of items that must be disclosed in English will also grow. In addition to shareholder meeting results, companies must file in English all 55 categories of major management matters related to business and investment activities, as well as fair disclosures and inquiry disclosures. For KOSPI-listed companies with assets of at least 10 trillion won, the deadline will be shortened from “within three business days after filing the Korean-language disclosure” to, in principle, same-day disclosure. The third phase, which makes English disclosures mandatory for all KOSPI-listed companies, will begin next March instead of May 2028. That would expand the coverage to 848 companies. The commission said the move reflects “the KOSPI market’s status as South Korea’s flagship market and strong interest from global investors.” Starting in March, companies will also be required to disclose shareholder vote tallies. Until now, they disclosed only whether each agenda item passed. Under the revisions, companies must disclose, on the day of the meeting, the voting results for each item, including the percentages for votes in favor, against and abstentions. In regular filings such as annual reports, they must provide not only percentages but also the number of shares. Executive compensation disclosures will also become more detailed starting in May, after criticism that current disclosures do not clearly show the link between company performance and pay and make it hard to understand how compensation is calculated. Companies will add total shareholder return and operating profit for the past three years to executive pay disclosures. They must also provide specific reasons and calculation standards for each component of compensation. Because stock-based compensation for executives has been disclosed separately from pay, it has been difficult to gauge total compensation. Going forward, companies must disclose restricted stock and other stock-based awards together with total executive compensation and detailed, individual compensation information. They must also include the cash-equivalent value of unrealized stock-based compensation.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-28 18:03:34

South Korea to Launch Public Growth Fund in June, Begins Design Talks South Korea’s Public Participation Growth Fund is expected to be launched and sold around June. The Financial Services Commission said it held its first task force meeting on Tuesday to discuss the fund’s product structure and management plan. The policy fund is designed to let ordinary investors make long-term investments in advanced strategic industries through a publicly offered fund. The public fund will spread money across multiple sub-funds managed by private investment professionals. Key targets are expected to include companies tied to advanced strategic industries such as semiconductors and secondary batteries, as well as related infrastructure firms. The goal is to raise 600 billion won a year, totaling 3 trillion won over five years. Participants agreed the tax benefits are more generous than those offered by existing policy funds, including an income deduction of up to 40% depending on the investment amount and a separate 9% tax rate on dividend income. They also said product design should balance the policy goal of long-term investment in advanced strategic industries with fund returns. The task force plans further talks on the main investment targets and allocation ratios, incentives and performance reviews to encourage managers to run the fund in line with its purpose, and criteria for selecting sub-fund managers. The commission said it plans to finalize and announce the product structure in March, then select managers for the public fund and sub-funds before launching the product for retail investors around June.* This article has been translated by AI. 2026-01-28 16:30:19

Retail investors struggle overseas as brokerages reap record fees SEOUL, December 19 (AJP) - Nearly half of South Korean retail investors trading overseas stocks are losing money, with average profits per account falling sharply from a year earlier, the country’s financial watchdog said on Friday. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said that as of the end of August, 49.3 percent of individual investors’ overseas stock trading accounts were in loss-making territory. Average profit per account dropped to about 500,000 won, down from 4.2 million won a year earlier. The FSS conducted on-site inspections of major securities firms and asset managers, including six brokerages with the highest overseas stock trading volumes and two leading managers of overseas equity funds, to assess investor protection and risk management practices related to overseas investing. Retail investors have also recorded persistent losses in overseas derivatives trading regardless of market conditions, the watchdog said. From January through October, losses totaled 373.5 billion won, compared with 360.9 billion won in the same period a year earlier. At the same time, brokerages have seen a surge in revenue from overseas trading. The top 12 securities firms by overseas stock trading volume posted record overseas stock brokerage commission revenue of 1.95 trillion won from January through November. Foreign-exchange fee income rose to 452.6 billion won, up 53.63 percent from a year earlier. 2025-12-19 10:39:40

South Korea unveils new guidelines to boost foreign investor entry into stock market SEOUL, November 27 (AJP) - South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) on Thursday unveiled new guidelines for foreign omnibus accounts, aiming to streamline market access for overseas investors and attract additional capital inflows. Omnibus accounts allow foreign institutions to trade and settle Korean equities without opening individual accounts for each client — a structure similar to how South Korean investors trade U.S. stocks. The country’s first such account was launched in August, eight years after the system was first introduced. The updated guidelines provide detailed procedures for account opening, allocation of shareholder rights, and mandatory reporting. They also establish internal control standards designed to prevent market abuse and money laundering by foreign financial investment firms. The FSC said the guidelines will be translated into English and distributed to market participants. A corresponding revision to financial investment business regulations — removing restrictions on which entities can open omnibus accounts — is expected to be completed in December. The regulatory overhaul will enable small and mid-sized foreign securities firms and asset managers, previously excluded unless granted special exemptions, to access the system. “We expect this to improve foreign investors’ access to the domestic stock market and stimulate capital market activity by attracting new investment funds,” the FSC said in a press release. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-11-27 14:04:10

Activist fund presses Stick Investment for succession plan, share buyback SEOUL, November 24 (AJP) - Activist fund Align Partners Capital Management has publicly urged private equity firm Stick Investment to disclose its leadership succession plan and carry out a share buyback. Align, which holds a 7.63 percent stake, released an open letter on Monday demanding that the company present a value-enhancement roadmap by Jan. 19. The fund argued that Stick Investment remains significantly undervalued, noting that its return on equity stood at just 0.3 percent in the 12 months through the third quarter, despite managing more than 10 trillion won in assets. Align said the company’s long operating history, industry networks and investment expertise — a set of “intangible assets” accumulated over 26 years — should support a higher valuation. Align called for internal reforms, including a clear succession plan and a revamped compensation structure. It proposed using half of Stick Investment’s treasury shares to offer stock-linked incentives to future leaders and to attract key talent, with the remaining shares to be canceled to reduce dilution. The activist fund also urged the firm to make greater use of leverage and pursue strategic investments to increase assets under management and expand earnings. It further requested a long-term growth strategy and improvements in board independence and expertise. Align criticized what it described as insufficient communication with shareholders, particularly regarding employee stock compensation involving 22.19 percent of treasury shares issued as restricted stock units. Align said it became a shareholder in February last year and has since held four private meetings and sent five letters to management without meaningful progress — prompting the move to a public campaign. * This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP. 2025-11-24 14:45:38