Fourteen of 19 South Korean covered-call ETFs with the highest annual payout rates, or 73.7%, recorded 12-month total returns below those rates, according to Koscom’s ETF CHECK. The products had been listed for more than a year as of the 11th. Four funds posted negative total returns, underscoring that distributions do not protect principal when underlying assets decline. PLUS High Dividend Stock Weekly Covered Call had a 23.34% payout rate but a total return of minus 23.88% after its price fell 36.94%, while ACE US Big Tech 7+ Daily Target Covered Call (Synthetic) offered a 24.67% payout rate and returned 3.33% after its price dropped 14.78%. SOL Palantir Covered Call OTM Bond Mixed had the highest payout rate, at 28.65%, but returned minus 2.56%. Covered-call ETFs generate distributions by selling call options on assets they hold, but option premiums may not offset asset losses. Domestic covered-call ETF net assets rose 86.6% to about 28.06 trillion won from about 15.04 trillion won at the end of last year, despite the performance gap.