South Korea requires listed companies to cancel treasury stock

CryptocurrencySniper · 2026-02-26T11:32:30+00:00

The South Korean National Assembly has passed a legislative amendment requiring listed companies to cancel treasury shares, aiming to boost the stock market and enhance shareholder protection. The new regulation mandates that newly repurchased shares be canceled within one year, and existing treasury shares must be dealt with within 18 months. As a result, South Korea's stock market capitalization has surpassed France, becoming the ninth largest market in the world, with the composite stock index breaking through 6,000 points for the first time.

CryptocurrencySniper

2026-02-26 11:32:30

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To further boost the stock market, South Korea’s National Assembly passed a long-debated legal revision on the 25th, requiring listed companies to cancel treasury shares.

According to Bloomberg News on the 25th, the treasury stock clause is a core part of President Lee Jae-myung’s policy agenda and a deepening of the previous amendments to the Commercial Act. Treasury stock refers to shares that a company has repurchased but not yet canceled. The previous revision expanded directors’ fiduciary responsibilities and strengthened protections for minority shareholders.

The new revision stipulates that newly repurchased treasury shares must be canceled within one year, with a six-month grace period for existing treasury shares, meaning they must be canceled within 18 months.

Lee Jae-myung has repeatedly linked stricter shareholder protections with efforts to elevate the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI). He stated that such reforms are crucial for attracting global capital and reshaping market confidence. Driven by the AI boom, South Korean tech stocks performed strongly, helping South Korea’s market capitalization surpass France on the 25th, ranking as the ninth-largest market globally.

On the 25th, KOSPI’s intraday and closing prices both broke through the 6,000-point mark for the first time. Bloomberg data showed that South Korea’s market capitalization rose to $3.76 trillion, an increase of about $2.23 trillion since the beginning of 2025. This exceeds France’s $3.69 trillion.

(Source: Xinhua News Agency)

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