Korea / Special Situations, Clepsydra Capital

Sanghyun Park

Korea / Special Situations

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing

Clepsydra Capital

Investigate special situations, pairs, and index rebalancing trades in Korea.

Event-Driven

Hyundai Motor Company manufactures, sells, and exports passenger cars, trucks, and commercial vehicles. The Company also sells various auto parts and operates auto repair service centers throughout South Korea. Hyundai Motor provides financial services through its subsidiaries.

<ul>
<li>Names outside the new tax regime may hike year-end payouts, with gov’t push boosting odds despite fuzzy timing, drawing local desk interest.</li>
<li>With timing murky, local desks are targeting high-yield names, 25–40% FY25 payout, and ~10%+ DPS growth as prime candidates for year-end dividend hikes ahead of AGMs.</li>
<li>Nine first-tier names (25–40% payout, &lt;10% DPS growth, 3%+ yield) are prime dividend plays; five second-tier names (20–25% payout) need monitoring for potential Q4 expense tweaks.</li>
</ul>


Names outside the new tax regime may hike year-end payouts, with gov’t push boosting odds despite fuzzy timing, drawing local desk interest.
With timing murky, local desks are targeting high-yield names, 25–40% FY25 payout, and ~10%+ DPS growth as prime candidates for year-end dividend hikes ahead of AGMs.
Nine first-tier names (25–40% payout, &lt;10% DPS growth, 3%+ yield) are prime dividend plays; five second-tier names (20–25% payout) need monitoring for potential Q4 expense tweaks.


Local Desks Target Year-End Dividend Boost Trading Setup

SK Square Co., Ltd. operates as an investment company. The Company invests in semiconductors, information and communications technologies, and other industries. SK Square conducts businesses in South Korea.

<ul>
<li>“Effective immediately” matters for L2 exit timing and re-flag risk; KRX confirmed year-end announcement with instant rollout, making year-end the key flow inflection if big L2 names get exempted.</li>
<li>Large caps (₩10tn+ market cap) pulled from market-warning universe, with L2 tagging now factoring relative outperformance, not just absolute price gains, to curb overuse.</li>
<li>Of 33 L2 names, five KOSPI blue chips see re-flag risk drop after their mandatory 10-day lockup; near-term trades focus on timing these expiries for relief rallies and flow resets.</li>
</ul>


“Effective immediately” matters for L2 exit timing and re-flag risk; KRX confirmed year-end announcement with instant rollout, making year-end the key flow inflection if big L2 names get exempted.
Large caps (₩10tn+ market cap) pulled from market-warning universe, with L2 tagging now factoring relative outperformance, not just absolute price gains, to curb overuse.
Of 33 L2 names, five KOSPI blue chips see re-flag risk drop after their mandatory 10-day lockup; near-term trades focus on timing these expiries for relief rallies and flow resets.


Fresh Intel Just in on KRX’s L2 Warning Revamp

Samsung Electronics Pref Shares / Event-Driven

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. manufactures a wide range of consumer and industrial electronic equipment and products such as semiconductors, personal computers, peripherals, monitors, televisions, and home appliances including air conditioners and microwave ovens. The Company also produces Internet access network systems and telecommunications equipment including mobile phones.

Samsung Electronics Pref Shares (005935 KS)

<ul>
<li>Market eyed 25% top rate, but 30% is still punchy; &lt;100 people hit it, lower than before, giving big shareholders incentive to rotate back into dividends.</li>
<li>The new regime hits only companies with 25% payout last year and +10% YoY dividend: lower than the original draft, and the 10% bump is a solid positive.</li>
<li>Companies &gt;5tn KRW with ≥25% payout last year must boost dividends +10% YoY to get the tax cut; Samsung could add ~1tn KRW, potentially easing its pref discount.</li>
</ul>


Market eyed 25% top rate, but 30% is still punchy; &lt;100 people hit it, lower than before, giving big shareholders incentive to rotate back into dividends.
The new regime hits only companies with 25% payout last year and +10% YoY dividend: lower than the original draft, and the 10% bump is a solid positive.
Companies &gt;5tn KRW with ≥25% payout last year must boost dividends +10% YoY to get the tax cut; Samsung could add ~1tn KRW, potentially easing its pref discount.


Korea Dividend Tax Cut: Eligibility Criteria & Market Impact on Large Caps, Including Samsung Prefs

<ul>
<li>SK Hynix and SK Square hit L2 flags; cash-only until Dec 24. Margin off, &gt;40% two-day rip triggers halt. L2 lifts if below T-5/+45%, T-15/+75%, and 15-day high.</li>
<li>L2’s usually a non-event, but this time the margin freeze probably smacks Hynix harder. Key trigger is staying below the 15-day high: Hynix ₩587,000, Square ₩324,000.</li>
<li>Govt set to roll out AI-semiconductor holdco deregulation this week, boosting AI holdcos like Square and juicing a near-term Square-over-Hynix trade opportunity.</li>
</ul>


SK Hynix and SK Square hit L2 flags; cash-only until Dec 24. Margin off, &gt;40% two-day rip triggers halt. L2 lifts if below T-5/+45%, T-15/+75%, and 15-day high.
L2’s usually a non-event, but this time the margin freeze probably smacks Hynix harder. Key trigger is staying below the 15-day high: Hynix ₩587,000, Square ₩324,000.
Govt set to roll out AI-semiconductor holdco deregulation this week, boosting AI holdcos like Square and juicing a near-term Square-over-Hynix trade opportunity.


Hynix & Square L2 Flags Set to Squeeze Spread Near Term

SK Hynix Inc. provides products and services for the electronic components industry. The Company manufactures semiconductors, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), NAND flash memory, and static random access memory (SRAM) chips.

<ul>
<li>They’re maxing out M15X ahead of schedule, facing a fab gap until ’27, and now need more capex than their KRW 28tn cash pile comfortably covers.</li>
<li>SK doesn’t want an Hynix ADR; they’re focused on tapping the KRW 150tn Growth Fund to fill the capex gap while avoiding dilution and protecting their already-fragile control stack.</li>
<li>ADR noise spiked because Hynix’s near-term capex needs exceed Growth Fund capacity, pushing them toward a 2.4% treasury dump—but I still don’t see SK pulling the ADR trigger.</li>
</ul>


They’re maxing out M15X ahead of schedule, facing a fab gap until ’27, and now need more capex than their KRW 28tn cash pile comfortably covers.
SK doesn’t want an Hynix ADR; they’re focused on tapping the KRW 150tn Growth Fund to fill the capex gap while avoiding dilution and protecting their already-fragile control stack.
ADR noise spiked because Hynix’s near-term capex needs exceed Growth Fund capacity, pushing them toward a 2.4% treasury dump—but I still don’t see SK pulling the ADR trigger.


More Detailed Insight into Hynix’s Internal Situation Regarding the ADR Issue

I investigate special situations in Korea.

Sanghyun Park
Korea / Special Situations
• Clepsydra Capital

Local Desks Target Year-End Dividend Boost Trading Setup

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Fresh Intel Just in on KRX’s L2 Warning Revamp

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Hynix & Square L2 Flags Set to Squeeze Spread Near Term

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More Detailed Insight into Hynix’s Internal Situation Regarding the ADR Issue

This post provides a deeper look into SK Hynix’s internal dynamics and decision-making process surrounding the ADR issue.

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