Daily Brief South Korea: KB Financial, Samsung Electronics, Goodai Global and more

In today’s briefing:

Korea’s Dividend Narrative Is Back: Unpacking the DP’s New Bill and Its Backstory
US Government May Acquire Equity Stakes in Samsung Electronics and TSMC
Goodai Global (Unlisted) – The Most Aggressive M&A Player in the Korean Cosmetics Industry

Korea’s Dividend Narrative Is Back: Unpacking the DP’s New Bill and Its Backstory

A new bill cutting Korea’s dividend tax hit the tape, giving local dividend plays an immediate boost on the news flow.
The presidential office is aligned on pushing the dividend tax below the 27.5% CGT floor. The new party leader is also tightly syncing with the Blue House to avoid clashes.
The DP’s tax cut move today puts the gov’s dividend narrative back in play with juice. We need setups to ride this theme.

According to Reuters, the US government may be interested in acquiring equity stakes in Samsung Electronics and TSMC in exchange for CHIPS and Science Act grants.
The US government is exploring ways to take equity stakes in these two Asian tech giants that have been expanding their semiconductor facilities in the United States.
If the US government decides to invest $10 billion each in Samsung Electronics and TSMC, they would represent about 3% and 1% of Samsung Electronics and TSMC’s market caps, respectively.

Goodai Global is the most aggressive M&A player in the Korean cosmetics industry. It has grown its business mainly through M&As.
It has achieved the strongest growth in sales and profits among the major Korean cosmetics companies in the past four years.
In early August 2025, Goodai Global secured 800 billion won, with a pledge to go public within three years. Goodai’s value is estimated to be about 4 trillion won.

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