Unclaimed shares reach 1.47 trillion won as of end-August

Balance grew by about 26.4 billion won in 8 months; 26,000 shareholders affected

Depository returned total of 278.3 billion won over past 5 years

Annual average recovery rate stands at just 3.9% of outstanding balance

The Korea Securities Depository building in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]
The Korea Securities Depository building in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

Unclaimed shares held by the Korea Securities Depository have approached 1.5 trillion won ($1.12 billion), accumulated as shareholders failed to collect newly issued stock from rights offerings, stock dividends and other corporate actions.

Over the past five years, the depository's campaign to reunite shareholders with their unclaimed shares has returned an annual average of only 55.7 billion won — prompting calls to overhaul how shareholders are notified and how the collection process works.

According to data submitted to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Han Min-su, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, the depository held a total of 800.84 million unclaimed shares as of end-August. Their assessed value stood at 1.47 trillion won.

Unclaimed shares arise when stock certificates issued through paid-in capital increases, bonus issues or stock dividends go uncollected. This typically happens when shareholders are unaware of the issuance or have moved and no longer receive related notices. Such shares are held in custody by transfer agents, including the Korea Securities Depository.

At end-2025, unclaimed shares totaled 763.53 million shares valued at 1.44 trillion won. Over the following eight months, the assessed value grew by about 26.4 billion won. The number of shareholders with unclaimed stock rose from 25,349 at end-2025 to 26,280 by end-August this year, an increase of 931. Of those, 22,526 were individual shareholders and 3,754 were corporate holders.

The largest individual holding belonged to a shareholder with 644,247 shares valued at 70.67 billion won. Among corporate holders, the largest stake stood at 42.23 million shares worth 211.14 billion won. Unclaimed dividends also accumulated — about 5.6 billion won for individual shareholders and about 170 million won for corporate holders.

Despite annual outreach efforts, the depository returned a total of only 278.3 billion won in unclaimed shares over the past five years through its recovery campaign. That works out to an annual average of about 55.7 billion won, equivalent to roughly 3.9 percent of the outstanding unclaimed balance at end of last year.

Each year, the depository mails notices to shareholders' verified residential addresses, confirmed through the Ministry of Interior and Safety. Last year, it sent notices to 9,492 people — fewer than half of the 25,349 shareholders with unclaimed shares at year-end.

Critics say the criteria for selecting notice recipients and the accuracy of address verification need to be reviewed. Han urged the depository to step up its efforts, saying it should "pursue a more proactive campaign, including text message notifications sent in cooperation with the three major mobile carriers."


th5@heraldcorp.com