Individual shareholders in Korean Inc. have expanded by nearly 80 percent in a year as the result of stock fad that spilled over across the age and gender during the pandemic year.

According to CEO Score, a Korean corporate analysis site, on Wednesday, a total 44.9 million individuals were minority shareholders in 2,041 companies trading with 2019 comparable data in Korea by December, up 79.6 percent from 25.02 million from a year ago. They are shareholders owning minimum one hundredth of outstanding shares and voting right.

On the Kospi, 25.5 million held minor shares in 752 listed companies, up 85.1 percent from the same period a year ago. The number added 72.8 percent from 11.2 million to 19.4 million for the secondary Kosdaq market.

On the Kospi, platforms drew retail dominance.

There were 2.5 million individual investors in the service sector as of December last year, more than doubling from 1.5 million in the previous year.

The growth was most significant in Naver with the number of minor shareholders soaring 878.4 percent and Kakao 332.8 percent.

Retail investors also upped presence in the electric and electronics sector with the number surging 137.4 percent. The number of minor shareholders with Samsung Electronics expanded 279 percent from 568,313 in the end of 2019 to 2.1 million last year.

Small investors joined investment in Samsung Electronics on the back of its dividend policy expansion and robust chips and home appliance industries.

In secondary Kosdaq, the number of retail investors surged the most in the machinery and equipment sector – 98 percent over the past year – followed by the internet with 97 percent, semiconductor with 92.8 percent, chemical 87.2 percent, and pharmaceutical 85.9 percent.

Overall, bellwether Samsung Electronics saw the sharpest increase in the number of retail investors, followed by Hyundai Motor, Kakao, Naver, and Korean Air Lines.

By Lee Eun-joo

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]