Apex G-Score™  ·  Corporate Governance  ·  KOSPI & KOSDAQ FY2025

Korean companies disclose well.
Their boards don't work.
We measure the gap.

Apex Governance quantitatively scores the governance of Korean listed companies using only public regulatory filings — enabling investors to see the power structures and conflict-of-interest risks hidden behind the disclosures.

Scored. Backtested across nine independent periods. Verified against real financial outcomes.

2,099
Companies scored
6 yrs
Backtested data
+12.4pp
Avg Q5–Q1 ROE gap
9 / 9
Periods positive
The Gap
27.5pp

The cumulative ROE gap between Celestial-tier and Time Bomb firms on the Korean exchange. Over two years (2024–2025).

+15.1%
Celestial 2-yr cumulative ROE
−12.4%
Time Bomb 2-yr cumulative ROE
433%
Kill Switch avg debt ratio (2.7× market)

Existing governance ratings measure whether institutions exist — not whether they function. A board that has never recorded a dissenting vote in five years receives the same score as one with active deliberation, if both meet formal criteria. A company that discloses everything but concentrates all decision-making power in a few hands is rated the same as one that does both.

This is how governance risk hides in plain sight. Information is disclosed, but not in a form that enables shareholders to make informed judgments. The Apex G-Score was built to measure what single-score ratings structurally cannot: the gap between what a company tells you and what it lets you do.

The Model

Three Axes, Not One

Corporate governance is not a single dimension. Collapsing transparency, power distribution, and conflict-of-interest risk into one number erases the diagnostic information that matters most. The TBR framework decomposes governance into three independent axes — each measuring a distinct risk driver, each predicting a different financial outcome.

Weight 30%
T
Transparency
Does the company disclose honestly, consistently, and on time?
We measure the structural quality of disclosure — not the volume. A company that files shareholder meeting notices weeks in advance signals a different management discipline than one that meets the legal minimum by days. Correction frequency, dividend predictability, and disclosure timing reveal patterns that earnings calls do not.
→ Profitability (r = +0.19, p < 0.001)
Weight 40%
B
Balance of Power
Is decision-making power distributed — or concentrated in the hands of a few?
Most Korean listed companies have audit committees, outside directors, and shareholder meetings. The institutions exist on paper. The question is whether they function. B carries the highest weight because Korea's governance failures most frequently manifest as power concentration behind procedural compliance.
→ Loss avoidance (r = −0.126, p < 0.01)
Weight 30%
R
Related-party Risk
Are shareholders exposed to structural conflicts of interest that erode value over time?
We track the channels through which value can be extracted — related-party transactions at asymmetric terms, capital dilution through convertible instruments, treasury stock dispositions to allied parties. Each individually legal. Collectively erosive. These risks are latent under normal conditions but catastrophic when triggered.
→ Leverage risk (r = −0.15, p < 0.001)

"Three axes. Three jobs. None redundant."

Full methodology →
Research

From Our Work

Research Note #1 · April 2026
G-Score Backtest Results: Full Methodology and Evidence (2020–2025)
Nine independent scoring periods. Quintile analysis. Axis-level correlations. Archetype performance data. Full statistical methodology and limitations.
Read the full note →
Coming Next
The Poison Apple Phenomenon
Companies with near-perfect transparency and concentrated power. Why Korea's best disclosers can also be its worst-governed — and why single-score ratings cannot detect them.
Subscribe for updates →
Coming Next
KOSPI vs. KOSDAQ: A Structural Governance Divide
Zero Celestial firms. 20.7% Poison Apples. 80.5% D-grade. Why governance screening on KOSDAQ is not a refinement of analysis — it is a prerequisite.
Subscribe for updates →
Newsletter

Governance Data,
Delivered