The Korea Exchange (KRX) has published a list of 151 listed companies it considers persistently undervalued, including life insurer Hanwha Life and property and casualty carrier Heungkuk Fire & Marine Insurance. The public “low PBR” tag, visible on securities firms’ trading platforms, lands at a time when both carriers face competing demands on their capital.
The list, released on November 1, identifies 96 KOSPI-listed companies and 55 on the Kosdaq that ranked in the bottom 25% and 10%, respectively, of their markets by price-to-book ratio (PBR) over the past three years, according to the Korea Times. PBR measures a company’s market capitalisation against its net assets. A ratio below 1 means investors are pricing the company at less than its book value.
Four financial firms appeared on the list. Hanwha Life, with a market capitalisation exceeding 3.5 trillion won (US$750 million), was the largest among all 151 designated companies. DB Securities, Hyundai Motor Securities, and Heungkuk Fire & Marine were also named. Other companies above 1 trillion won in market capitalisation include Hyundai Steel, Emart, Lotte Shopping, and Lotte Chemical.
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For brokers and risk managers placing business with South Korean carriers, the low-PBR designation is one data point. Solvency metrics tell a fuller story, and the two named insurers sit at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Hanwha Life reported a K-ICS (Korean Insurance Capital Standard) ratio of 167% at the end of the first half of 2026, up 9.5 percentage points from year-end 2025, according to the Seoul Economic Daily. That sits above the regulatory recommendation of 130%.
However, the carrier announced in October that it plans to raise up to 800 billion won (US$560 million) in subordinated bonds, partly to prepare for the early redemption of about 1 trillion won in overseas bonds sold in 2022 and partly to offset capital outflows from recent acquisitions, the Seoul Economic Daily reported.
Heungkuk Fire & Marine sits in a different position. The carrier reported a basic K-ICS ratio of 47.6% in the first half of 2026, according to Seoul Economic Daily figures, well below the recommended 130% threshold and the new 50% basic-capital standard taking effect in 2027.
Being flagged for low valuation while facing capital adequacy pressure creates a dual consideration for brokers assessing counterparty strength.
The public naming creates a tension. If it pushes these insurers toward higher shareholder returns through buybacks or dividends, that is capital not flowing into underwriting capacity, new products, or overseas expansion. If they respond by improving return on equity and operational efficiency, the outcome could be a stronger competitive position over time.
Na Jeong-hwan, a strategist at NH Investment & Securities, said the designation could shift corporate behaviour.
“Even companies that have been reluctant to return capital to shareholders may feel compelled to reconsider their approach once they appear on the low-PBR list. Investors should watch for those that respond to the disclosure by stepping up their corporate value-up announcements,” Na said.
For brokers, the question is how each carrier resolves that tension. A carrier raising capital while simultaneously under pressure to return more of it to shareholders faces a balancing act that warrants monitoring at renewal.
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The KRX list is the latest step in South Korea’s Corporate Value-Up Programme, launched by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) in February 2024. The KRX implemented finalised guidelines in May 2024, and a Korea Value-Up Index of 100 companies launched in September that year, according to Glass Lewis.
The programme has relied on voluntary disclosure. Companies with total assets above 500 billion won must confirm in governance reports whether they have submitted a value-up plan, but no enforcement mechanism exists for those that have not.
In July 2026, the FSC signalled that PBR performance could factor into future delisting reviews and stewardship code guidelines for institutional investors, according to an FSC press release. The KRX plans to begin one-on-one consulting for selected firms next year.
The designations will remain on the KRX’s disclosure portal through May 4, 2027, with updates every May and November.
South Korea’s insurance market is projected to reach 249.7 trillion won (US$191.2 billion) by 2029, growing at a compound annual rate of 3.4%, according to GlobalData. In a market of that scale, how its largest insurers manage the balance between shareholder returns and underwriting capital will shape the competitive landscape brokers operate in.
