The 10 most heavily discounted preferred stocks among 114 listed in Korea traded at an average 71% below their ordinary shares at end-July, with Doosan Fuel Cell 1 Preferred Stock recording the widest gap at 81.4%. A Korea Corporate Governance Forum seminar argued that the discounts reflect governance failures rather than simply the loss of voting rights. Preferred stocks are intended to exchange voting rights for priority dividends and liquidation distributions, but Korean issuers often provide little effective priority. Unlike U.S. preferred stock, which commonly carries fixed cumulative dividends and enforcement mechanisms, Korean issues may offer only a marginal dividend premium and lack protections when payments are missed. Speakers also said boards may be destroying shareholder value by repurchasing more expensive ordinary shares instead of discounted preferred stock. Calculations presented at the seminar indicated that targeted buybacks could retire more shares, lift Hyundai Motor's EPS and DPS, and help Samsung Electronics manage ownership constraints involving Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance.