About us
(Seoul=Yonhap Infomax) Kyu Sun Lee – Kim Jong-min, Chief Executive Officer of Meritz Securities Co., has repurchased shares in Meritz Financial Group Inc. approximately six months after fully divesting his holdings. The move, which comes amid a period of share price correction and recent downgrades in analyst recommendations, has drawn significant market attention.
According to a disclosure filed with South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service on the 20th, Kim acquired 4,613 common shares of Meritz Financial Group via on-market purchases on November 17 and 18.
The average purchase price was around 110,000 won per share, bringing the total transaction value to approximately 507.94 million won ($390,000). Kim bought 3,539 shares on the 17th and 1,074 shares on the 18th. All funds for the acquisition were sourced from his own employment and financial income.
This marks Kim’s return as a shareholder after selling his entire stake in May. At the end of April, Kim had sold all 13,448 shares he held in Meritz Financial Group through on-market transactions, realizing about 1.6 billion won ($1.23 million) at an average price of roughly 119,000 won per share. The latest repurchase price is approximately 8–9% lower than his previous sale price.
Market participants are closely watching the timing of Kim’s buyback. Despite Meritz Financial Group reporting record third-quarter earnings on November 14, the stock has come under pressure following analyst concerns over a potential slowdown in total shareholder return (TSR), leading to a series of rating downgrades.
Indeed, the share price, which stood at 121,900 won on November 14, fell to the 107,000–110,000 won range on November 17 and 18, coinciding with Kim’s purchases.
Meanwhile, Meritz Financial Group has reaffirmed its commitment to a medium-term shareholder return policy, pledging to return 50% of consolidated net profit to shareholders annually for three years starting in 2026.
kslee2@yna.co.kr
(End)
Copyright © Yonhap Infomax Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited.