[Edaily Reporter Kim Hyung-il ] While companies have been rolling out corporate value enhancement plans (value-up disclosures) one after another to shed the label of being undervalued, some observers point out that the feasibility of these goals and the specific implementation plans must be carefully evaluated. Some companies have set goals to increase their price-to-book ratio (PBR) by several times its current level or to raise their return on equity (ROE) to double digits. The securities industry assesses that the key issue is not the targets these companies have set, but whether they will translate into actual results.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on the 25th, a total of 53 companies disclosed their plans over two days: 46 on the 22nd—the deadline for Value-Up disclosures to qualify for an exemption from being listed on the low PBR (price-to-book ratio) company list—and 7 on the 21st, the day before. By market, there were 29 KOSPI-listed companies and 24 KOSDAQ-listed companies. Among the low-PBR companies tallied by Edaily last month, 34 submitted value-enhancement disclosures this time.

The low-PBR disclosure system targets companies in the bottom 25% of the KOSPI and the bottom 10% of the KOSDAQ, based on a comparison of PBRs by market and sector. Companies that disclose a corporate value enhancement plan containing measures to improve their PBR can receive an exemption from the disclosure requirement for one year. However, companies that have continuously met the low-PBR criteria for the past six years are ineligible for this exemption, even if they submit a disclosure.

Among the companies that have recently disclosed corporate value enhancement plans, some have set bold targets relative to their current financial standing. SHINIL PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.(012790), for instance, set a target of 3 times PBR by 2029, despite having a PBR of 0.39x in the first half of this year. A simple comparison suggests this would require raising the PBR to approximately 7.7 times its current level.

SD Biosensor(137310)[Company Name] also announced a plan to achieve a PBR of at least 1x and an ROE of 5% by 2029, up from a PBR of 0.32x and an ROE of 1.61% in the first half of this year. Given the business challenges it faces—including a decline in revenue due to COVID-19, delays in expanding sales in the U.S., and lower factory utilization rates—the key will be linking a recovery in profitability to an increase in corporate value.

The profitability improvement targets are also challenging. #HL D&I HALLA CORPORATION has set a goal to raise its ROE from 2.90% in 2025 to over 12% by 2029. Sangsangin Co., Ltd.(038540)The company posted net losses for three consecutive years from 2023 to 2025, with a consolidated net loss of 123.1 billion won in 2025. Given this situation, the company has set goals of returning to profitability in 2026 and achieving an ROE of 10% by 2028.

PBR is a metric calculated by dividing the stock price by net asset value per share, indicating how highly the market values a company’s net assets. ROE is a profitability metric calculated by dividing net income by equity. To improve these two metrics, the company must go beyond simply raising target figures; it must be backed by tangible results such as profit growth and improved capital efficiency.

Kim Dae-jong, a professor in the Department of Business Administration at Sejong University, stated, “To improve ROE, companies must boost the profitability of their core businesses, reduce unnecessary costs, and generate tangible profits by divesting unprofitable operations and enhancing productivity.” He added, “To raise PBR, companies must strengthen shareholder returns through sustained profit growth, increased dividends, and share buybacks and cancellations to secure market confidence.”

Professor Kim also emphasized the importance of specifying the path to achieving these goals. He pointed out, “If companies merely present target figures without disclosing implementation plans and the path to achieving them, value-up disclosures will inevitably remain nothing more than declarations,” adding, “Setting goals with low feasibility could actually undermine investor confidence.”

He went on to suggest, “Companies should disclose annual implementation plans, key performance indicators, and plans for investment, dividends, and share buybacks and cancellations, and when they fail to meet their targets, they must explain the causes and outline improvement measures.” In other words, for value-up disclosures to be more than just a one-time declaration, companies must go beyond merely setting targets and transparently disclose the actual implementation process to the market.

The securities industry is also focusing more on subsequent implementation than on the disclosures themselves. A researcher at a securities firm said, “If a company presents ambitious targets but fails to achieve them, it can actually erode market confidence.” The researcher explained that, in the actual analysis process, when calculating the discount rate relative to net asset value (NAV), the implementation of the value-up plan is reflected as one of the evaluation factors. This implies that whether the plan is realized can also influence corporate value and stock price valuation.