Daily Brief South Korea: Lg Innotek, Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI 200, Cosmax Inc and more

In today’s briefing:

Korea: 3 Potential Index Deletions in August; Positioning Watch
A Hidden Trading Angle from Dividend Tax Reform: Tax Timing Creates Dividend Trap Risks
Korean Government Confirms Visa-Free Entry of Group Tourists from China to South Korea

Korea: 3 Potential Index Deletions in August; Positioning Watch

There are 3 stocks in Korea that could be deleted from a global index in August and that will result in large selling from passive trackers.
Short interest has increased in all 3 stocks since the resumption of short selling. Cumulative excess volume is higher in all stocks over the last couple of months.
Given the increase in shorts and positioning, there could be short covering in two of the three stocks. The third could still drop over the next couple of weeks.

With new tax rules kicking in from FY2026, firms may hold back FY2025 dividends to front-load later, creating potential downside surprise purely from tax-driven deferral, not fundamentals.
If FY2025 payouts fall short, dividend names could go ex-div on inflated expectations, then trade heavy — setting up mispricing risk around year-end dividend capture trades.
This may weaken post-ex-div price rebounds, creating dividend trap risks and short-term mispricing that traders can exploit via shorts, dip buys, or dividend swap long-short strategies.

On 6 August, the Korean government confirmed visa-free entry of group tourists from China to South Korea.
The new policy will allow the group tourists from China to visit South Korea on a visa-free basis from 29 September 2025 to end of June 2026.
We provide a list of top 20 companies in Korea that are key beneficiaries of the no visa policy for group tour visitors from China to South Korea.

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