According to market data released on Wednesday, the number of shareholder entities in South Korean listed companies approached 15 million last year. The Korea Securities Depository (KSD) reported that, as of the end of December, the total number of shareholders across 2,727 companies listed on the Korean stock market reached 14.6 million, marking a 2.3% increase from 2024. KSD indicated that 99.1% of these investors were individuals, while foreign investors accounted for 0.2%. Data showed that market heavyweight Samsung Electronics had the highest number of shareholders, totaling 4.6 million, though this represented a decline of over one million from the 5.7 million recorded in 2024. In contrast, Samsung's chipmaking rival SK Hynix saw its shareholder count rise to 1.19 million, an increase of more than 50% compared to 2024. SK Hynix's stock price surged from 173,900 won on December 30, 2024, to 651,000 won by the end of last year, a gain of nearly fourfold. Over the same period, Samsung Electronics' share price also more than doubled, though its rise appeared more modest compared to SK Hynix's remarkable ascent.