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Kospi-listed firms' dividend payouts reach all-time high of $23.8B in 2025

Published: 20 Apr. 2026, 15:41

A screen in Hana Bank's trading room in central Seoul shows the Kospi on April 20. [YONHAP]

Dividend payouts by Korean firms listed on the benchmark Kospi reached an all-time high last year, signaling that local companies are making efforts to increase cash payouts in line with the government's initiative to boost shareholder value, the bourse operator said Monday.

The combined dividend payments of 566 of the 799 companies listed on the Kospi with fiscal years ending in December totaled 35.1 trillion won ($23.8 billion) in 2025, an increase of 15.5 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Korea Exchange (KRX).

The numbers represent four straight years of gains, the bourse operator said.

The average dividend yields, or the annual cash dividends paid by a company relative to its stock price, were 2.3 percent for common stocks and 3.06 percent for preferred stocks.

Dividend yields are used to measure the annual income generated by a stock relative to its share price.

“We are seeing many listed companies make efforts to enhance shareholder returns by expanding cash payouts and maintaining dividend policies," the KRX said.

Among companies listed on the secondary Kosdaq whose fiscal year ended in December, 666 companies paid out a combined 3.1 trillion won in dividends last year, up 34.8 percent on year.

The number of dividend-paying firms rose 8.8 percent from the previous year, a new record, the stock exchange said.

Yonhap