The monetary sum of the transactions reached 5.3 trillion won ($4.76 billion), 2.9 trillion won for buyback and 2.4 trillion won for stock cancellation. That is more than half of 10 trillion won for all of last year, which included 9.7 trillion won in buyback and 300 billion won in cancellation.

SK Innovation led the pack by taking back approximately 1 trillion won worth of company shares.  Samsung Electronics bought back 838 billion won worth and Hyundai Motor 317.8 billion won worth. Together, the three companies accounted for 73.6 percent of the monetary total of stock buyback during the measured period.

"Share buyback is good news in terms of benefits for shareholders, but local firms often resell them on the market instead of canceling them, using it as a means to defend managerial control," Kim So-yeon, a research with the KCGS, said. "It is positive that this year the amount of retired stocks increased more than that of stock buyback." (Yonhap)