South Korea’s government and ruling Democratic Party agreed to introduce a bear hug takeover system by the end of the year to revitalize the capital market. The system would require prospective corporate acquirers to publicly disclose details of unsolicited takeover offers, allowing investors and other market participants to assess the proposals. A bear hug is a public bid designed to pressure a target company’s board to consider an offer and state its position. Rep. Oh Gi-hyoung, chair of the ruling party’s Special Committee on K-Capital Market, said the committee would accelerate amendments to the Capital Market Act after a working-level government-party policy meeting at the National Assembly. The party also plans to proceed with the Korea Exchange’s naming-and-shaming program for companies with low PBRs (price-to-book ratios), encouraging them to improve corporate value voluntarily. The first list is scheduled for disclosure on Nov. 2. Oh said approximately 60% to 70% of South Korean companies have a PBR below 1, a proportion he described as unusually high compared with other countries.