The Korea Securities Depository (KSD) has announced a campaign to return approximately 45.1 billion won in unclaimed dividends and 2.32 million shares to investors who have not claimed them.
The campaign, titled '2026 Unclaimed Dividend Recovery Campaign,' will run for eight weeks from October 6 to November 30. Unclaimed dividends refer to payments such as dividends, dividend shares, and bonus shares that arise when investors withdraw physical stock certificates but fail to register them in their name before the shareholder registry closes.
As of the end of September this year, the KSD is managing unclaimed dividends totaling about 45.1 billion won, which includes a contribution of 28.6 billion won from the Korea Financial Services Agency.
Since 2018, the KSD has conducted annual campaigns to recover unclaimed dividends. Over the past five years, the campaign has returned 80,300 shares and approximately 4.53 billion won to investors.
This year's campaign is a collaboration between the KSD and domestic securities firms to raise awareness among investors about unclaimed dividends and assist them in recovering their unclaimed assets. The KSD will provide information on unclaimed dividends related to past transactions through each securities firm, which will guide investors on how to verify and claim their unclaimed dividends.
Notably, this year, four securities firms—NH Investment & Securities, Mirae Asset Securities, KB Securities, and Samsung Securities—are participating to enhance promotional efforts. These firms were selected based on their volume of physical stock certificate issuances and unclaimed dividend return records over the past decade, and they plan to focus on informing investors about how to check and claim unclaimed dividends through their online and offline channels during the campaign period.
Investors who have withdrawn physical stock certificates but have not registered them in their name can check for unclaimed dividends using the 'Unclaimed Dividend Inquiry Service' on the KSD website.
If investors have already returned their physical stock certificates to a securities firm or re-deposited them, they can request the return of unclaimed dividends through that firm. For those who still hold physical stock certificates, separate procedures may be required depending on whether the certificates are electronically registered.
The KSD stated, 'Through this campaign, we aim to strengthen collaboration with securities firms and activate the return of forgotten financial assets, continuously working to protect the valuable property rights of the public.'
* This article has been translated by AI.
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