The government received a record 2.7951 trillion won in dividends from state-invested institutions this year.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced Friday that dividends from government-invested institutions in fiscal 2025 rose 496.4 billion won from the previous year. The average payout ratio — dividends as a percentage of net income — climbed 1.18 percentage points from a year earlier to 40.9 percent, exceeding the government's 40 percent target. "Both the dividend amount and payout ratio are the highest on record," a ministry official said.
Half of the 40 state-invested institutions, or 20, paid dividends. The remaining 20 did not, citing net losses (11 institutions) or the need to cover carried-over deficits (9 institutions). Korea Land and Housing Corp. and Korea Railroad Corp. were among the non-paying entities.
The three major state-run banks led the dividend payouts. Combined dividends from Korea Development Bank (880.6 billion won), Industrial Bank of Korea (596.8 billion won) and the Export-Import Bank of Korea (476.2 billion won) totaled 1.9536 trillion won, accounting for 69.9 percent of the total. KDB's dividend included 294.9 billion won in recovered funds from a policy finance parent fund.
Incheon International Airport Corp. followed the state-run banks with 319.4 billion won. Korea Electric Power Corp. paid 180.2 billion won, posting its second-largest net profit on record thanks to industrial electricity rate hikes. It was Kepco's second consecutive year of dividend payments. Energy public corporations including Korea Gas Corp. (27.9 billion won) and Korea District Heating Corp. (24.6 billion won) also joined the dividend list.
"The 40 percent dividend target applied through the start of this year," a ministry official said. "We are reviewing whether and at what level to reset the target for the next five years."
