Korea Exchange Names 151 "Low-PBR" Companies for the First Time, Including E-Mart and Hyundai Steel

Korea Exchange (KRX), the operator of South Korea's stock market, has published its first-ever list of "low-PBR" companies: 151 listed firms whose shares have traded far below their book value for years. The list went live on November 2, 2026 and will stay up until May 3, 2027. The average price-to-book ratio of the companies on it is about 0.25x, while the average for all Korean listed companies is about 1.8x.

The move is part of Korea's push to fix the so-called "Korea discount," the long-running gap between the valuations of Korean companies and their peers in other developed markets. This post explains what PBR is, how the list was built, which well-known names made it, and what happens next.

What is PBR?

The price-to-book ratio (PBR) compares a company's share price with its book value per share. For the company as a whole, it is market capitalization divided by net assets. Net assets, or book value, are what remains on the balance sheet after subtracting liabilities from assets.

Quick definition: Book value per share (BPS) is net assets divided by the number of shares outstanding. If the share price is lower than BPS, the PBR is below 1x.

A PBR of 1x means the market values the company at exactly its book value. A PBR below 1x means investors value the whole company at less than the book value of its net assets. A PBR of 0.25x means the market price is roughly a quarter of book value.

PBR also depends on the industry. Asset-heavy businesses such as steel, chemicals and insurance usually trade at lower multiples, while software and brand-driven companies with few physical assets tend to trade at higher ones. That is why KRX ranked companies within their own sector instead of against the whole market.

Why would a stock trade so cheaply? The usual reasons are weak profitability, poor growth prospects, inefficient use of assets and low shareholder returns such as small dividends and few buybacks.

How the list was built

KRX calculated the PBR of 2,431 listed companies as of October 22, 2026, excluding firms that already faced delisting issues. Companies were grouped into 11 sectors under the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS).

A company qualified if its PBR stayed in the bottom 25% of its market and sector on KOSPI, or the bottom 10% on KOSDAQ, for six consecutive half-year periods, or for six of the last seven. KOSPI is Korea's main board, home to the largest companies. KOSDAQ is the junior market, with many smaller tech and growth firms.

In total, 185 companies met the criteria: 115 on KOSPI and 70 on KOSDAQ. Because this was the first list, KRX gave a one-year exemption to 34 companies that had disclosed a corporate value-up plan, including a plan to improve PBR, by October 22. Companies that met the criteria for 12 consecutive half-years, or 12 of the last 13, did not get the exemption even if they had disclosed a plan. Of the 62 companies that had disclosed plans, 49 met the criteria and 34 of those were exempted.

The final list has 151 companies: 96 on KOSPI and 55 on KOSDAQ.

Who is on the list?

Several companies with a market capitalization above 1 trillion won (about $750 million at the October 30 rate of 1,334.3 won per dollar) are on the list, including Hyundai Steel, Hanwha Life Insurance, Lotte Shopping and E-Mart, one of Korea's largest supermarket chains. E-Mart's PBR was reported at about 0.15x as of October 22, which means its market value was about 15% of its book value. Many holding companies of Korea's large business groups, known as chaebol, are also on the list.

The common pattern is clear. Steel, retail and insurance companies own large asset bases, but investors have been skeptical about their profitability and growth.

By market, the average PBR was about 0.24x for the 96 KOSPI companies and about 0.25x for the 55 KOSDAQ companies. 113 of the 151 companies (74.8%) had a PBR of 0.3x or lower, and the median was 0.23x.

What the "low-PBR" tag means

The list is published on the value-up page of KIND, KRX's corporate disclosure system, from November 2, 2026 to May 3, 2027. The next list will be published on May 4, 2027. Korean brokerage apps and trading platforms are also adding a "low-PBR" tag next to the stock names, although timing and display vary by brokerage. KRX plans to recalculate PBR and refresh the list every May and November.

Being on the list does not create a new legal obligation. But investors may see the tag when they look up the stock, so many companies are likely to see it as pressure to announce value-up measures such as share buybacks and cancellations, higher dividends or better use of their assets. The 34 companies that disclosed plans in advance stayed off the list this time.

KRX will also offer one-on-one consulting to listed companies to help them analyze why their PBR is low, set targets and build improvement plans. The list is also meant to give institutional investors a clear basis for pushing companies, as shareholders, to improve. The program follows Korea's capital market reform package announced by the authorities in March 2026, and it aims to encourage long-undervalued companies to raise their corporate value voluntarily.

A simple way to interpret the valuation gap

Imagine a company with net assets of 100 units and a stock market value of 25 units. Its PBR would be 0.25x. If market value rose while book value stayed unchanged, the ratio would rise. If book value fell while market value stayed unchanged, the ratio would also rise. The same movement in the ratio can therefore arise for very different reasons; an increase alone does not explain what changed in the business.

That is why the distinction between a published value-up plan and its later results matters. A plan explains what management intends to do. Subsequent financial statements, capital-allocation decisions and shareholder distributions show what actually happened. KRX's list identifies a persistent valuation pattern using its stated criteria; the financial explanation for that pattern still depends on the individual company's profitability, assets and use of capital.

Key takeaways

Korea Exchange has named 151 listed companies whose PBR met the low-ranking criteria for six consecutive half-years or six of the last seven half-years, and the list is public from November 2, 2026. The average PBR on the list is about 0.25x, and it includes household names such as Hyundai Steel, Lotte Shopping, Hanwha Life Insurance and E-Mart. Thirty-four qualifying companies that had disclosed value-up plans in advance received a one-year exemption, and the next list is due in May 2027.

Sources: Korea Exchange announcement