Korean dividends: the record date can now come after the amount. How it works, with SK hynix's 20,000 won

When a Korean company pays a dividend, three dates matter: the day it announces the amount, the record date on which you must be on the shareholder register, and the last day to buy so that your trade settles by the record date.

For years, Korea ran them in an order that confused foreign investors. It has changed.

The old order

Korean law used to fix the record date for quarterly dividends at the end of March, June and September, and most companies used 31 December for the year-end dividend. The amount came later: in the weeks after the quarter, or at the annual shareholders’ meeting in March.

So a buyer had to own the shares before knowing what the dividend would be. In most other large markets, the company announces first.

What changed

31 January 2023. The Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Justice announced a plan to separate two dates: the one that decides who votes at the annual meeting, and the one that decides who gets the dividend. Companies could decide the year-end dividend at the meeting and set the record date after it, Business Watch reported. They had to change their articles of incorporation first.

27 December 2024. The National Assembly passed a Capital Markets Act amendment that removed the fixed March, June and September record dates for quarterly dividends. A company can now set the record date after the board decides the amount, The Asia Business Daily reported. It took effect on promulgation.

End of 2024. The Financial Supervisory Service counted 1,008 KOSPI and KOSDAQ companies, 43.2%, that had changed their articles. 109 had paid a dividend under the new order. To use it for quarterly dividends, companies had to amend their articles again.

An example: SK hynix, Q3 2026

YTN reported the dates. The gap between the last day to buy and the record date is the settlement period: Korean share trades settle two business days after the trade. A buyer on Thursday 26 November is on the register by Monday 30 November. A buyer on Friday 27 November is not.

The quarter ended on 30 September. Under the old rule, the record date would have been that day, a month before anyone knew the payout would be 20,000 won. That is the change in one line. (What brokers did with SK hynix’s targets after the results.)

What to check for any Korean company

1. Has it switched? Not every company has. The dividend notice in its filing gives the record date. If the record date is the last day of the quarter and the amount comes later, the company is still using the old order.
2. Find the last day to buy. It is two business days before the record date. Korean holidays count as non-business days.
3. Check the currency and tax with your broker. The dividend is paid in won. What a foreign holder receives after withholding depends on where they live; we do not cover it here.

Each company page shows the company’s financials and its latest broker targets in English.

This is a description of market rules, not advice. Check the company’s own notice before trading.

Related: When do Korean companies report quarterly earnings? The 45-day rule · Foreign retail access: the omnibus account and ETF timeline. More from the same data: After Q3 results, brokers cut 19 targets and raised 5 · Samsung Electronics after its results.