South Korea CAPE Ratio
Current Korea CAPE
As of August 2026 · ratio
Rough estimate. This single-country CAPE is approximated by rolling the EWY ETF price from a recent anchor — free data has no per-country 10-year earnings — so treat it as a directional gauge, not a measured CAPE. It is bounded and is not used in the headline Global CAPE. See the methodology.
By Dominic Roe · Data Engineer & Business Intelligence Developer Updated August 2026
Is South Korea cheap right now?
✓ Real · EWYOn 3 of 4 trailing multiples, South Korea equities are priced below the all-world index (VT). These are current, fund-reported figures — not the estimated CAPE series charted below.
| Measure | South Korea | World |
|---|---|---|
| P/E | 15.9 | 22.6 |
| P/B | 1.97 | 3.32 |
| P/S | 1.67 | 2.55 |
| Dividend yield | 1.25% | 1.59% |
| ROE (quality) | 12.4% | 14.7% |
Green = cheaper than the world index on that measure. ROE is shown as context, not cheapness: a lower return on equity means part of a cheap multiple may be deserved rather than a bargain.
Against its own history, South Korea's estimated CAPE of 36.3 sits at the 99th percentile — historically expensive for South Korea — above most of its own past readings.
Multiples as of August 2026.
- Historical average
- 14.5
- 315 months
- Historical median
- 14.3
- Percentile rank
- 99th percentile
- vs full history
- All-time range
- 8.5 – 42.4
- Last updated
- August 2026
- since June 2000
Understanding this metric
What is it?
The Cyclically Adjusted Price-to-Earnings ratio (CAPE), also called the Shiller P/E or PE10, measures how expensive South Korea equities are relative to their inflation-adjusted earnings over the prior ten years. By averaging a decade of real earnings it smooths out the booms and busts of the business cycle, giving a steadier read on valuation than a one-year P/E.
How is it calculated?
CAPE is computed by dividing the real (inflation-adjusted) price of the South Korea equity market by the average of its real earnings over the trailing ten years. Both price and earnings are expressed in today's currency using a consumer price index, so a CAPE of 25 means investors are paying 25 times a smoothed, inflation-adjusted measure of annual earnings.
Historical interpretation
Historically a high CAPE has been associated with lower subsequent long-run real returns, and a low CAPE with higher returns. It is a valuation gauge, not a market-timing signal: rich valuations can persist or grow richer for years. Compare today's reading to the metric's own history — its average, median and percentile rank — rather than to a single "fair value" number. South Korea is the textbook "discount" market, which makes it a useful case for reading CAPE beside the live trailing multiples above. Korean equities trade below the all-world index on price-to-earnings, price-to-book and price-to-sales — the long-discussed "Korea discount", rooted in the dominance of cyclical memory-chip makers, the complex ownership and governance of the family-controlled conglomerates (chaebol), historically low dividend payouts and an ever-present geopolitical backdrop. The offset is a lower return on equity than the United States and earnings that swing hard with the semiconductor cycle. The most useful read combines the CAPE percentile (how Korea is priced against its OWN history) with those cross-market multiples before concluding the market is cheap.
Limitations
CAPE has well-known limitations. Accounting standards, payout policies, profit margins, interest rates and sector composition all change over decades, which can shift the "normal" range upward or downward. The ten-year window still includes unusual periods (such as a deep recession) that distort earnings. CAPE says little about the next year and should be combined with other metrics rather than used in isolation. This series is an ESTIMATE, not a measured CAPE. Free data does not include long-history, per-country 10-year real earnings, so it is built by anchoring a recent CAPE level and rolling it through history using the inflation-adjusted price of the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) with a steady real-earnings trend removed. History only extends as far back as the country ETF (typically the late 1990s/2000s). Treat it as a directional valuation gauge. See the methodology documentation for sources and assumptions.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Korean stock market cheap right now?
On the multiples above, Korean equities trade below the all-world index on price-to-earnings, price-to-book and price-to-sales — the long-running 'Korea discount'. But part of that is structural (memory-chip cyclicality, governance, low payouts), so read the low multiple against Korea's own CAPE history rather than as a clear bargain.
What is the 'Korea discount'?
It is the tendency of Korean shares to trade at persistently lower valuations than peers. It is usually blamed on the complex cross-holdings and governance of the chaebol conglomerates, weak minority-shareholder returns and low dividend payouts, the cyclicality of the memory-chip industry, and the geopolitical risk from North Korea.
How exposed is Korea to semiconductors?
Heavily. A small number of large technology and memory-chip makers dominate the index, so Korean earnings and valuations are tightly tied to the global semiconductor cycle — strong in chip upturns and weak when memory prices fall.
Is the South Korea CAPE figure a measured ratio?
No. Only the US CAPE is a measured series (from Robert Shiller). Korea's CAPE here is an estimate built from a free ETF price proxy (EWY) and a recent anchor, so treat it as directional. The trailing P/E, P/B, P/S and dividend yield shown above are real, current figures reported by the country's tracker fund.
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