Professor Jungwon Suh of the Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) Business School has won the ‘2025 KJFS Best Paper Award’ for his research that empirically re-examines the causes of the "Korea Discount." The award-winning paper was published in the Korean Journal of Financial Studies (KJFS) Vol. 54, No. 4 (2025).

This study comprehensively analyzed the structural factors of the Korea discount using data from 58 countries spanning from 2001 to 2018. According to the research findings, the level of shareholder rights in South Korea was not lower than the international average, thereby failing to empirically support the conventional hypothesis that "weak shareholder rights cause the Korea discount." Furthermore, the shareholder return rate did not significantly differ from the global average, and no evidence was found to suggest that an increase in the return rate leads to a rise in corporate value. Consequently, Professor Suh proposed that high economic policy uncertainty is a more plausible cause of the Korea discount.

Sharing his thoughts on the award, Professor Suh remarked, "I have been steadily researching the Korea discount phenomenon for decades, and I am delighted to publish such major, impactful research findings and receive recognition from the academic community." He added that his 2007 paper on the Korea discount continues to be actively discussed in academia, while his 2019 study on the holding company discount phenomenon is frequently cited as virtually the only academic research in that specific field.

Regarding his future research plans, he stated, "I plan to continue publishing internationally impactful papers focusing on topics related to the corporate governance, valuation, and financing of Korean companies." He also shared a message for his students: "Amid the recent boom in the domestic stock market, I encourage you to explore the relationship between corporate value and fundamentals with a critical and analytical perspective."