Risk and sentiment
KOSPI Dividend Yield
The market-average dividend yield of KOSPI-listed companies. Compared against deposit and treasury yields it anchors the relative appeal of equities, and its direction draws particular attention when shareholder-return policies are shifting.
At a glance
KOSPI Dividend Yield: latest value and prior change
As of 2026-07-31, KOSPI Dividend Yield is 0.96 %. It is 0.21 pp higher than 0.75 % on 2026-06-30.
Across 271 available observations from 2004-01-31 to 2026-07-31, the latest value is at the tie-adjusted 1st percentile.
- Observed on
- Default comparison window
- 2004-01-31–2026-07-31
- Observations · observed cadence
- 271 · Monthly
- Data source
- Bank of Korea ECOS
A high or low percentile does not by itself make the indicator positive, negative, or a buy or sell signal.
Time-series chart
KOSPI Dividend Yield
2004-01-31–2026-07-31
Long-history series are stored as real provider observations. Index, FX, VIX, and ratio charts use historical backfill where providers expose it; Korean investor flow and margin-credit feeds expand as stable historical endpoints become available.
Recent observations and calculated changes
The ten latest chart observations. Change subtracts the previous observation; intervals vary with holidays, release schedules and missing data. A difference in rates or ratios is not an investment return.
| Observed | Value | Previous date | Difference (current − previous) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-31 | 0.96 % | 2026-06-30 | 0.21 %p |
| 2026-06-30 | 0.75 % | 2026-05-31 | 0.00 %p |
| 2026-05-31 | 0.75 % | 2026-04-30 | -0.09 %p |
| 2026-04-30 | 0.84 % | 2026-03-31 | -0.25 %p |
| 2026-03-31 | 1.09 % | 2026-02-28 | 0.21 %p |
| 2026-02-28 | 0.88 % | 2026-01-31 | -0.17 %p |
| 2026-01-31 | 1.05 % | 2025-12-31 | -0.25 %p |
| 2025-12-31 | 1.30 % | 2025-11-30 | -0.10 %p |
| 2025-11-30 | 1.40 % | 2025-10-31 | 0.06 %p |
| 2025-10-31 | 1.34 % | 2025-09-30 | -0.26 %p |
Source: Bank of Korea ECOS
Interpretation guide
The KOSPI dividend yield: pricing the index against its cash payout
The KOSPI dividend yield compares total dividends paid by main-board companies against their market capitalization, available monthly as a market-wide average. Since the figure rises when prices fall or payouts grow, it serves as a supporting valuation gauge of how cheap the index has become relative to the actual cash it returns to shareholders.
Numerator or denominator: which one moved
A rising dividend yield is produced by two entirely different routes. If prices fell, it is the residue of a downturn; if companies raised payouts, it reflects a structural shift toward shareholder returns. Telling the two apart is the first step of any reading.
- A yield spiking during an index slump is the mark of a downturn before it is a value signal.
- A yield creeping up while the index moves sideways means the numerator — payouts — is improving.
- Korean dividends cluster in year-end settlements, so the monthly series can carry a seasonal pattern.
The comparison against interest rates
The yield's real use is in comparison with bond and deposit rates. How close the cash flow from simply holding stocks comes to the risk-free rate is the yardstick for equities' relative appeal in asset allocation.
- Stretches where the yield approaches or exceeds the 3-year treasury yield are rare enough to deserve attention.
- In easing cycles, lower returns on deposits and bonds raise the relative appeal of the same dividend yield.
- Place it beside TapeFlow's treasury yields and bank deposit rates for an at-a-glance comparison.
Never a standalone value verdict
Concluding the index is cheap from a high yield alone is dangerous. Dividends are based on past earnings, so payouts can shrink when profits roll over, and shifts in shareholder-return policy move the comparison baseline itself.
- A high yield during an earnings slump is a number that dividend cuts can erase after the fact.
- In phases of strengthening shareholder-return policy, such as the Value-up program, naive comparisons with past averages mislead.
- A value call only becomes convincing alongside other gauges such as PBR and PER.