The headline transaction is tiny: 3,109 shares disposed off-market on 24 July at 52,700 won, worth 164m won, to employees who met the vesting conditions on restricted stock units. That is 0.001% of the company, and KT filed a formal material-event report to do it — including the broker's name. The useful content is the treasury table underneath. KT held 13,889,877 of its own shares, 5.51% of the 252,021,685 issued. During 2026 it acquired 3,071,295 through a trust arrangement running from 10 March to 9 September and disposed of 108,040. The retirement column is empty: nothing has been cancelled. That matters for anyone reading KT's commitment to repurchase and cancel 750bn won of stock across 2026 to 2028. Shares cancelled are gone permanently; shares held in treasury can be reissued, as this filing itself demonstrates. The buying has happened. The cancelling has not, and in Korea it requires its own separate disclosure — the same share-cancellation resolution (주식소각결정) form KB and Shinhan each filed in July.
KT declared 600 won a share for the second quarter, unchanged, with a record date of 29 July and payment on 13 August. The 142.6bn won total is calculated on 237,631,385 dividend-eligible shares — well short of the 252,021,685 issued, because the 5.51% sitting in treasury receives nothing. The filing warns both figures may move, since the buyback is still running. The board held the rate in a half when profit attributable to shareholders fell 35.5%. Annualised, 600 won a quarter is about 4.50% against the 53,300 won close, which makes KT the highest-yielding large Korean company with a New York listing. The 1.09% in the filing is the Korean convention — that quarter alone, against the average close over the preceding week. For a US holder of the ADR, each ADR represents half a common share, so the payment is 300 won per ADR, and Korean withholding at the 15% treaty rate takes the net yield to roughly 3.82%.
| Symbol | Last Price |
|---|---|
| 017670SK Telecom Co., Ltd. | ₩92,500 +3.9% |
| 032640LG Uplus | ₩14,760 -0.3% |