The Korea Exchange on November 1 publicly disclosed its first list of 151 companies designated as low-PBR businesses, including large-cap companies with market values above 1 trillion won, such as Hanwha Life and Hyundai. The group comprises 96 KOSPI companies and 55 KOSDAQ companies and will remain on the KIND electronic disclosure system until the trading day before May 2027. A low-PBR tag will also appear in securities firms’ HTS and MTS trading systems. PBR, or price-to-book ratio, compares a company’s market capitalization with its equity, or net assets; a reading below 1x indicates that market value is below book value. The initiative followed the Capital Market Constitution Improvement Plan released in March by the Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service and Korea Exchange. The exchange plans to provide one-on-one PBR improvement consulting to all 151 companies next year, helping them assess undervaluation and set targets and plans. The companies had PBRs below 1x, averaging 0.25x, while SUN&L recorded the lowest reading at 0.06x. The policy encourages companies to raise corporate value and increase profit returns through dividends or share buybacks, although reducing equity alone does not guarantee a higher PBR because dividends can lower share prices and buybacks can reduce both equity and market capitalization.