Stocks
Korean Stock Fiscal Year and Dividend Schedule — Centered on December Closings 韓国株の決算期と配当スケジュール — 12月決算が中心
While many Japanese listed companies have fiscal years ending in March, Korea overwhelmingly closes its books in December. Because the fiscal year aligns with the calendar year, the settlement and dividend schedules are distinctly different from Japan's.
First, let's consider dividend record dates. To receive year-end dividends from December-closing companies, one must be registered on the shareholder registry by the end of the year. Since stock settlements take several days, purchasing on the last trading day of December won't be in time. You need to calculate how many business days in advance you must buy based on that year's trading days.
In recent years, Korea has also seen a movement to review the dividend procedures themselves. Traditionally, the record date came before the dividend amount was determined, creating a structure where investors acquired rights without knowing the dividend amount. Efforts are underway to change this to a system where the record date is set after the dividend amount is finalized, and the implementation varies by company. It's most reliable to check the record date in the IR announcements for individual stocks.
Next are earnings announcements. Since it's a December closing, full-year earnings reports are concentrated from the start of the new year through around February. Quarterly earnings are typically announced around April, July, and October. This completely deviates from the Japanese perception of a settlement season from late April to mid-May, so if you're following both markets, you'll need to keep separate calendars.
The year-end and New Year's schedule in the Korean market also has its characteristics. The day after the last trading day of the year, meaning December 31st, is customarily a market holiday. Additionally, there are unique Korean holidays like Seollal (Lunar New Year) and Chuseok (Harvest Festival), the dates of which change annually. As these two holidays typically span several days, it can appear from Japan's perspective that the Korean market suddenly halts for several days.
Conversely, the Korean market remains open as usual during Japan's Golden Week and Obon holidays. When investing in both markets, there will be several occasions throughout the year when one market is closed while the other is actively trading.日本の上場企業は3月決算が多数派ですが、韓国は12月決算が圧倒的です。会計年度が暦年と一致しているため、決算と配当のスケジュールが日本とはっきりずれます。
まず配当の権利確定です。12月決算企業の期末配当を受け取るには、年末時点で株主名簿に載っている必要があります。株式の決済には数日かかるため、12月の最終営業日に買っても間に合いません。何営業日前までに買う必要があるかはその年の営業日で計算する必要があります。
なお韓国では近年、配当の手続き自体を見直す動きが進んでいます。従来は配当額が決まる前に権利確定日が来る順序だったため、投資家が配当額を知らないまま権利取りをする構造でした。これを配当額の確定後に基準日を設定する方式へ改める取り組みが進められており、企業によって対応状況が異なります。個別銘柄のIR公示で基準日を確認するのが確実です。
次に決算発表です。12月決算なので、通期決算の発表は年明けから2月ごろに集中します。四半期決算は4月、7月、10月ごろが目安です。日本の4月末から5月中旬という決算シーズンの感覚とは完全にずれるので、両市場を見る場合はカレンダーを分けて持つ必要があります。
韓国市場の年末年始の日程にも特徴があります。年内最終営業日の翌日、つまり12月31日は休場となるのが通例です。また元日、旧正月、秋夕といった韓国固有の連休があり、旧正月と秋夕は毎年日付が変わります。この二つは数日間の連休になるため、日本から見ると突然韓国市場だけが数日止まって見えることがあります。
逆に日本のゴールデンウィークやお盆の期間、韓国市場は通常どおり開いています。両市場を持つと、片方が休んでいる間にもう片方が動く局面が年に何度か訪れます。
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