By Jihoon Lee and Cynthia Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea hopes to mirror Japan’s efforts to boost the value of its companies as the neighbour’s stock market surges to a record high, with measures Seoul hopes will narrow a “Korea discount” on stock prices.
But while years of effort at pushing Japanese companies to be more responsive to shareholders have helped lift Tokyo shares above their 1989 “bubble”-era peak, the reforms floated last month by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol may not continue to boost the Seoul bourse, analysts say.
The benchmark KOSPI index hit a more than 20-month high this week on optimism over the “Corporate Value-up Programme”, to be announced on Monday, but some market participants are bracing for investors to take profits next week. They suspect gains may not continue beyond national elections in April.
“At this stage, we can’t be sure how consequential the value-up programme will be for the corporate…
