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KT&G (CEO Bang Kyung-man) held a board meeting on September 22 and decided to buy back and cancel approximately KRW 360 billion worth of treasury shares, totaling 2.07 million shares, or about 2% of its total shares outstanding, to enhance shareholder value. This decision marks the implementation of the company’s February plan to buy back and cancel more than KRW 300 billion worth of treasury shares. KT&G plans to begin purchasing its own shares on the open market on September 23 and cancel all acquired shares once the buyback is complete. In April, KT&G canceled all of its treasury shares, valued at KRW 1.8 trillion. As such, the company has already exceeded its treasury share cancellation target under its mid- to long-term shareholder return plan for 2024–2027, announced in November 2024. The target was to cancel treasury shares equivalent to 20% of the total shares outstanding as of 2023. KT&G reported strong first-half results on a consolidated basis, recording revenue of KRW 3.4052 trillion and operating profit of KRW 779 billion, representing year-on-year increases of 12.0% and 22.6%, respectively. What drove the company’s performance was a sharper competitive edge in its core businesses, including overseas combustible cigarettes and Next Generation Products (NGP). Building on these achievements, KT&G set its interim dividend at KRW 2,000 per share, up KRW 600 from KRW 1,400 last year. KT&G also plans to announce a new mid- to long-term shareholder return policy in the fourth quarter of this year, with a focus on strengthening dividends. The company’s earnings growth and expanded shareholder returns are also attracting investment from global asset managers. U.S. investment firm Capital Group has increased its stake in KT&G to 8.22%, while BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, holds a 6.15% stake. A KT&G representative stated, “We decided to proceed with this share buyback and cancellation to improve the predictability of our shareholder return policy, strengthen capital market confidence, and enhance per-share value. We will continue to do our utmost to increase shareholder value by establishing a virtuous cycle of earnings growth and expanded shareholder returns.”