[Edaily Reporter Shin Ha-yeon ] The Korea Exchange (KRX) will finalize the selection criteria and disclosure methods for companies with low price-to-book ratios (PBR) this month. Amid the growing trend of corporate value enhancement disclosures, the move aims to encourage voluntary efforts to boost corporate value by separately disclosing companies with low PBRs. Last month, the number of listed companies that newly disclosed corporate value enhancement plans increased by 12, bringing the cumulative total to 741 companies.

According to the “Monthly Status of Corporate Value Enhancement (June 2026)” released by the exchange, as of the end of June, a total of 741 companies—347 on the KOSPI and 394 on the KOSDAQ—had disclosed value-up plans. The market capitalization of these companies totaled approximately 6,361 trillion won, accounting for 85.5% of the total market capitalization. In particular, the market capitalization share of KOSPI-listed companies that disclosed such plans reached 89.4%.

Twelve companies participated in new disclosures last month: PearlAbyss Corp.(263750), SILLA SG CO., LTD.(025870), WORLDEX INDUSTRY & TRADING CO., LTD(101160), DONGYANG E&P INC.(079960), ECS TELECOM Co., Ltd.(067010), ShinyoungSecurities(001720), DaehanFlourMill(001130), FORCS Co., Ltd.(189690), #SUN&L, SV INVESTMENT CORPORATION(289080), TaekwangIndustrial(003240), and #F&F Holdings. Among these, four companies—ECS TELECOM Co., Ltd., ShinyoungSecurities, DaehanFlourMill, and SV INVESTMENT CORPORATION—are classified as high-dividend companies.

Regarding periodic disclosures detailing the status of implementation following previous disclosures, four companies— KoMiCo Ltd.(183300), KIWOOM Securities(039490), Nongshim(004370), and ORION(271560) —submitted their reports in June. The total number of companies that have submitted cumulative periodic disclosures now stands at 116.

Shareholder returns from companies also continued. MIRAE ASSET SECURITIES(006800)decided to repurchase 300 billion won worth of its own shares, while PearlAbyss Corp.(263750)announced the cancellation of 17.3 billion won worth of treasury shares and the signing of a trust agreement to repurchase 100 billion won worth of treasury shares. The exchange explained that, amid a steady increase in the scale of treasury share repurchases, cancellations, and cash dividends over the past three years, companies are continuing to implement shareholder returns in line with their corporate value enhancement plans.

Market indicators also continued to show a robust trend. The Korea Value-Up Index hit an all-time high of 4,276.72 on the 22nd of last month, and the total net assets of 13 Value-Up exchange-traded funds (ETFs) stood at 4.2 trillion won as of the end of June, a 762% increase from when they were first launched.

The exchange plans to establish a system for selecting and publicly announcing companies with low price-to-book ratios (PBR) to encourage such companies to voluntarily enhance their corporate value.

An exchange official explained, “We plan to finalize detailed measures, including the selection criteria and disclosure methods for low-PBR companies, and establish relevant guidelines in July.”