Listed Companies Cancel 62 Trillion Won in Treasury Shares This Year, 2.5 Times Last Year's Total... Samsung, SK hynix Account for Half

Treasury-share cancellations up 390% from 2024
Samsung Electronics ranks first, SK hynix second; 10 companies cancel over 1 trillion won
Commercial Act amendment prompts companies to join large-scale treasury-share cancellations

The amount of treasury shares canceled by domestic listed companies through the third quarter of 2026 reached nearly KRW 62 trillion, more than 2.5 times the total canceled in 2025. Including cancellations that are planned but not yet completed, the total amount canceled this year is expected to exceed KRW 120 trillion.

According to CEO Score, a corporate data research institute, a survey of 591 KOSPI- and KOSDAQ-listed companies that had disclosed treasury share cancellations in the past three years found that they canceled KRW 61.7522 trillion worth of treasury shares from January through September 2026, as of September 30.

This was a 156.3% increase from the KRW 24.091 trillion canceled in 2025. Compared with the KRW 12.6085 trillion canceled in 2024, the amount rose 389.8%. The cancellation amounts were calculated by multiplying the number of shares canceled by their closing price on the cancellation date.

Adding KRW 59.0401 trillion in planned cancellations that have not yet been completed brings the total amount of treasury shares to be canceled this year to KRW 120.7923 trillion. This is a 401.4% increase from the full-year total in 2025.

The sharp increase in treasury share cancellations is attributed to expanded shareholder returns under the corporate value-up policy and the requirement to cancel treasury shares under amendments to the Commercial Act. Companies have moved to enhance shareholder value while also disposing of treasury shares they already held, driving a rapid increase in cancellations.

CEO Score

In fact, 391 companies canceled treasury shares from January through September 2026, up by 257 companies, or 191.8%, from 134 in 2024. The number of companies that carried out large-scale cancellations worth at least KRW 1 trillion also increased, from one in 2024 and eight in 2025 to 10 in 2026.

Large-scale cancellations by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix led the overall increase. Samsung Electronics ranked first among companies, canceling KRW 17.0722 trillion worth of treasury shares in 2026. The company continued cancellations under its treasury share purchase plan announced at the end of 2024. Samsung Electronics canceled KRW 3.0353 trillion worth of shares in 2025 and KRW 17.0722 trillion worth in 2026.

The annual cancellation total could increase further. Analysts expect Samsung Electronics to cancel up to an additional KRW 40 trillion worth of treasury shares, taking into account its remaining funds for shareholder returns over the past three years.

SK hynix ranked second, canceling KRW 14.5503 trillion worth of shares. The move reflected the company’s stronger shareholder returns, supported by improved earnings and increased cash flow. Under its 2025-2027 shareholder return policy, announced in 2024, SK hynix said it would pursue additional returns if it met its financial targets. In February 2026, following strong earnings in 2025, it canceled 15.3 million treasury shares it held. In August, it also announced a new plan to buy back and cancel treasury shares worth approximately KRW 40 trillion.

The combined cancellation total for Samsung Electronics and SK hynix was KRW 31.6225 trillion, accounting for 51.2% of the overall amount. The two companies alone accounted for more than half of all cancellations.

A total of 10 companies, including the two, canceled more than KRW 1 trillion worth of shares. KB Financial Group followed with KRW 4.0129 trillion, followed by KT&G (KRW 2.4586 trillion), Samsung C&T (KRW 1.9798 trillion), Celltrion (KRW 1.8646 trillion), Shinhan Financial Group (KRW 1.607 trillion), Mirae Asset Securities (KRW 1.4944 trillion), NAVER (KRW 1.0954 trillion), and Mirae Asset Life Insurance (KRW 1.0246 trillion).

In line with the intent of the amendments to the Commercial Act, KB Financial Group decided to cancel early approximately 14.26 million treasury shares it already held. KT&G also canceled 3.3 million treasury shares in February 2026, followed by all of its remaining 10,866,198 shares in April. In September, it decided to buy back and cancel additional treasury shares worth KRW 360 billion, taking further steps to return value to shareholders.

Mirae Asset Life Insurance canceled most of the treasury shares it held, including shares acquired during its merger with PCA Life Insurance. To enhance shareholder value, Celltrion also included treasury shares set aside for employee stock option compensation in the cancellation. Of the 9.11 million shares canceled in April, 3 million were allocated for stock option compensation.

The top 20 companies by cancellation amount also included Hana Financial Group (KRW 956.9 billion), Meritz Financial Group (KRW 885.1 billion), DB Insurance (KRW 852.5 billion), Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (KRW 689.4 billion), Hyundai Motor (KRW 678.4 billion), POSCO Holdings (KRW 624.1 billion), Hanwha (KRW 581.3 billion), Yuhan Corporation (KRW 548.9 billion), Krafton (KRW 446.9 billion), and Hyundai Mobis (KRW 423.2 billion).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.