South Korea's two dominant chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, have announced shareholder returns exceeding 130 trillion won in 2026, a record born of the artificial intelligence boom rather than a philosophical shift in corporate culture. Yet the Kospi index sits 26 percent below its June peak, and Korean equities trade at barely a third of the valuation multiples commanded by Asia-Pacific peers — a quiet verdict from investors who have seen generosity before without seeing governance change. President Lee Jae Myung's Value-Up programme was designed to close precisely this gap, but