South Korean President Lee Jae Myung asked officials to review barriers to hostile takeovers as lawmakers debate takeover rules amid a stock-valuation gap between Korea and the United States.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said an expert presentation put the U.S. price-to-book ratio at 5.67 for October 2026; Taiwan's was 5.55 and Japan's 2.03. South Korea's benchmark KOSPI registered 1.74. The presentation also counted 560 KOSPI-listed companies and 877 Kosdaq-listed companies with ratios below 1.
The FSC summary said the presentation raised governance concerns, including whether major shareholders could weigh on share prices, retain takeover premiums and avoid meaningful scrutiny from outside investors. It connected those concerns with persistently low valuations.
Lee called hostile M&A a key mechanism for normalizing the market, The Korea Times reported, and urged officials to look for rules or other obstacles to such deals. The meeting did not settle the proposed tender-offer system, which could require an acquirer seeking control to offer for at least 50% plus one share or for all shares, Yonhap and Asia Business Daily reported.
Lee questioned whether the cost of a full-share offer could deter acquisitions. Yonhap and Asia Business Daily also reported that market participants raised whether minority investors would be able to sell alongside controlling owners. The policy choice puts a potential benefit for minority shareholders — access to a control-sale premium — against the possibility of making deals more expensive.
South Korea previously had a similar rule. The FSC says it took effect in January 1997 and was abolished in February 1998. Under that requirement, a buyer seeking at least 25% had to offer for 50% plus one share; it was ended amid concerns it could impede acquisitions and slow corporate restructuring. Yonhap reported that the ruling and opposition parties agreed to pursue a Capital Markets Act revision during the current National Assembly session, but the offer threshold and allocation terms remained unsettled.
