Type “Korea Value-Up ETF” into a US brokerage screen and the first thing it hands you is EWY. That is the trap. EWY is a plain MSCI Korea fund with nothing to do with the Value-Up reform β and the actual Value-Up ETFs, the ones built to ride Korea’s push for higher shareholder returns, are all listed in Seoul, in won, under Korean tickers Western screens barely show. Here is the side-by-side that finally sorts them out.
- Eight-plus KRX-listed ETFs track the same KRX Korea Value-Up Index β a 100-stock index screening for profitability, shareholder returns, PBR and ROE, launched September 2024.
- Fees are almost identical and strikingly low. The big three β KB’s RISE, Samsung’s KODEX and Mirae’s TIGER β all charge a 0.008% total expense ratio, among the cheapest ETFs anywhere. The differentiator is size and structure, not price.
- KB RISE is the giant. RISE Korea Value-Up (495050) was the first to cross β©1 trillion in net assets, and the index roughly tripled β a trailing return over 200% into the 2026 peak.
- EWY is NOT a Value-Up ETF, and there is no US-listed one. To own a real Value-Up ETF you buy a KRW-denominated KRX fund β or pick the covered-call variant (yield around 11β12%) if income is the goal.
π What Is the Korea Value-Up Index?
The Korea Value-Up Index is a KRX index of 100 listed companies chosen for strong profitability, shareholder returns, market valuation and capital efficiency β the benchmark that nearly every Korea Value-Up ETF tracks. The Korea Exchange launched it on 24 September 2024 as the investable centerpiece of the government’s Corporate Value-Up program, the reform effort aimed at closing the Korea Discount.
The index picks its 100 members from the top 400 companies by market value across KOSPI and KOSDAQ, through a five-stage screen: market representation, size, profitability (net income), capital efficiency (ROE), and β the reform’s whole point β shareholder returns, meaning dividends plus share buybacks and cancellations. Qualitative valuation (PBR) is layered on top. Weighting is by free-float market cap, with any single stock capped at 15% at each rebalance. Because that cap only bites on rebalance day, a high-flyer like SK Hynix can drift well above 15% between reviews β worth remembering when you look at the holdings below.
This is the product layer of a theme we cover in depth in our guide to Korea’s Value-Up program. If that post explains the why, this one is the what to buy.
βοΈ Korea Value-Up ETFs, Side by Side
Every fund below tracks the same KRX Korea Value-Up Index, so the differences come down to size (liquidity), structure (distributing vs. total-return), and a rounding error on fees. All the plain passive versions listed together on 4 November 2024.
| ETF | Issuer | KRX ticker | TER | Net assets (AUM) | Structure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RISE Korea Value-Up | KB Asset Mgmt | 495050 | 0.008% | ~β©1,006bn (~$680m) | Distributing (monthly) |
| KODEX Korea Value-Up | Samsung Asset Mgmt | 495850 | 0.008% | ~β©734bn (~$500m) | Distributing |
| TIGER Korea Value-Up | Mirae Asset | 496080 | 0.008% | ~β©565bn (~$380m) | Distributing (monthly) |
| KIWOOM Korea Value-Up | Kiwoom Asset Mgmt | 496090 | 0.009% | β | Distributing |
| SOL Korea Value-Up TR | Shinhan Asset Mgmt | 495550 | 0.05% | β | Total return (reinvests) |
| Hana 1Q Korea Value-Up | Hana Asset Mgmt | 495330 | 0.02% | β | Distributing |
| ACE Korea Value-Up | Korea Inv. Mgmt | 496120 | 0.09% | β | Distributing |
| KoAct Korea Value-Up Active | Samsung Active AM | 495230 | 0.50% | β | Active (not index-locked) |
TER = total expense ratio. AUM converted at USD/KRW β 1,472 (24 July 2026); “β” = figure not independently confirmed at publish. The big-three 0.008% fees and ACE’s 0.09% are independently verified; the KIWOOM, SOL, Hana and KoAct fees are per issuer/launch disclosures and worth reconfirming with the issuer. Hanwha’s PLUS and NH-Amundi’s HANARO also list Korea Value-Up ETFs on the same index (bringing the total past eight), but their tickers/fees are omitted here rather than guessed. Sources: issuer pages (KB RISE, Samsung KODEX, Mirae TIGER), FnGuide, FunETF, 2026.
π Which Is the Best Korea Value-Up ETF?
For most investors the best Korea Value-Up ETF is the largest and most liquid one tracking the KRX Value-Up Index β currently KB’s RISE Korea Value-Up (495050), the first to pass β©1 trillion in assets β because the fees are effectively tied at 0.008% across the big providers. “Best” here is about tradability and fit, not a fee edge that barely exists.
The tie-breakers, in order:
- Size and liquidity. RISE (~β©1tn) is the biggest, ahead of KODEX (~β©734bn) and TIGER (~β©565bn). A larger fund usually means tighter bid-ask spreads and less tracking noise β the practical cost that dwarfs a 0.001% fee gap.
- Distribution vs. total return. RISE, KODEX and TIGER pay out cash (RISE and TIGER monthly); Shinhan’s SOL version is a “TR” fund that reinvests dividends internally β cleaner for compounding and for deferring tax drag if you don’t need the income.
- Active vs. passive. Samsung’s KoAct Active (495230) charges 0.50% β over 60Γ the passive fee β to deviate from the index. You are paying for a manager’s judgment, which may or may not beat the plain index.
Because the underlying basket is identical, chasing the “cheapest” fund is a false economy. The real fork is passive-and-cheap (any of the big three) versus the covered-call variant for income (below).
𧬠What’s Actually Inside β and Why It’s a Shareholder-Return Bet
Inside a Korea Value-Up ETF you mostly own Korea’s large, cash-rich companies that have started returning capital β memory chipmakers, banks, automakers and holding companies β tilted toward those raising dividends and cancelling shares. The holdings tell you what “Value-Up” really means: a tilt toward Korea’s cash-generative giants that have started returning capital. On KB’s RISE fund, the top five recently ran roughly SK Hynix ~21%, Samsung Electronics ~17%, SK Square ~9%, Hyundai Motor ~5% and KB Financial ~4% β memory chips, a chip-holding vehicle, autos and a bank. The chip weights sit above the index’s 15% cap because SK Hynix’s 2026 surge pushed them there between rebalances.
That mix is the thesis in miniature. The Value-Up screen rewards companies lifting dividends and β crucially β cancelling repurchased shares rather than just buying them back, the governance behavior Korea’s reform is trying to make normal. Financials, autos and holding companies feature heavily because they are where payout ratios and buyback-cancellation have moved most. Owning a Value-Up ETF is therefore a bet that this shareholder-return culture sticks β the same argument behind single names like Samsung C&T, Samsung Life and Kia, packaged into one ticker.
π΅ What About the Covered-Call Version?
KB’s RISE Korea Value-Up Fixed Weekly Covered Call ETF (0094M0) is a different product: it holds the Korea Value-Up index but sells KOSPI 200 index call options against about 30% of the book to generate high monthly income, recently a distribution yield around 11β12%. It trades away part of the upside for cash, so it suits income-seekers, not investors who want the full growth of the underlying.
The 30% call-overlay design is deliberately partial β it keeps roughly 70% of the portfolio exposed to the index’s long-term climb while harvesting option premium on the rest. That let it post an unusually large total return in 2026 (near 99% year-to-date by mid-year) alongside a chunky payout. But covered-call yields in Korea are calculated inconsistently across issuers, and a headline double-digit “yield” is a function of option premiums and share price, not a guaranteed dividend. Treat it as an income tool with capped upside, distinct from the plain Value-Up ETFs above.
π Is EWY a Korea Value-Up ETF? And Can Foreigners Buy the Real Ones?
No β EWY (the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF) is not a Value-Up ETF; it tracks the broad MSCI Korea index, not the KRX Value-Up Index, and there is currently no US-listed Value-Up ETF. EWY is a fine way to own Korea generally, but it applies none of the Value-Up shareholder-return screen β so if the reform thesis is your reason to buy, EWY does not express it.
Foreigners can buy the real Korea Value-Up ETFs, but only as KRW-denominated shares on the KRX through a broker with Korea access. There is no dollar wrapper. In practice that means an international broker that routes to Seoul, exactly as covered in our guide to buying Korean stocks as a foreign investor. If you want dollar exposure to the same underlying names without a KRX account, you are back to broad tools like EWY, US-listed Korean ADRs, or converting Seoul prices yourself as we show in Samsung and SK Hynix stock price in USD β but none of those is the Value-Up index.
π Lingo Check
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| KRX Korea Value-Up Index | The KRX’s 100-stock index (launched Sept 2024) screening for profitability, shareholder returns, PBR and ROE β the benchmark the Value-Up ETFs track. |
| TER | Total expense ratio β the annual fee an ETF charges, as a % of assets. Korea’s Value-Up ETFs sit near 0.008%, among the world’s lowest. |
| distribution yield | The income an ETF pays out over a year as a % of its price. High for the covered-call variant (~11β12%), modest for the plain Value-Up funds. |
| TR (total return) | A fund structure that reinvests dividends internally instead of paying them out β cleaner for compounding (e.g. the SOL version). |
| covered call | Selling call options against a stock holding to earn premium income, in exchange for capping upside β the mechanism behind the high-yield Value-Up variant. |
| buyback cancellation | Permanently retiring repurchased shares (not reissuing them) β the shareholder-return action the Value-Up reform most rewards. |
π― Why It Matters for K-Export Stars
Korea’s Value-Up ETFs are the cleanest single-ticket way to bet that the Korea Discount is finally closing β that Samsung, the banks, the automakers and the holding companies keep raising payouts and cancelling shares rather than hoarding cash. For a global investor, the hard part was never conviction; it was that the products are Seoul-listed, won-denominated and invisible on English screens, while the fund a US search actually surfaces (EWY) is the wrong one. Sorting the real Value-Up ETFs from the imposters β and knowing the fees are a wash so liquidity and structure decide β is exactly the local-market clarity this site exists to provide.
Conclusion
The Korea Value-Up ETF field is unusually simple once you see through the noise: eight-plus funds, one index, one fee (0.008% for the big three), so the decision is liquidity and structure, not price. KB’s RISE (495050) leads on size, KODEX and TIGER are near-identical alternatives, Shinhan’s SOL offers a reinvesting total-return wrapper, and the covered-call variant (0094M0) swaps part of the growth for an ~11β12% payout. The two mistakes to avoid: buying EWY thinking it’s a Value-Up fund (it isn’t), and anchoring on the triple-digit trailing returns from the 2026 rally. Own it as a multi-year shareholder-return thesis, size the chip concentration honestly, and pick the wrapper that fits how you want to be paid.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and is not investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security. ETF fees, assets, holdings, yields, tickers and index rules change and may be inaccurate by the time you read this β verify every figure with the issuer, the Korea Exchange, and your broker before acting. Investing in foreign equities and options-based ETFs involves currency, market and structural risk. Do your own research.