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NEW YORK, December 16, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Board of Directors (the "Board") of The Korea Fund, Inc. (NYSE: KF) (the "Fund") has appointed Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (the "Program Manager") to serve as its agent and broker for purposes of implementing the Fund’s Discount Management Program (the "Program"), with effect as of December 16, 2024.
The Program provides that the Fund may repurchase annually up to 10% of its common shares outstanding as of the close of business on June 30th of the prior year in open market transactions when such shares are trading above a specified discount threshold in accordance with the procedures and parameters (the "Share Purchase Procedures") adopted by the Board. The Board may amend the Share Purchase Procedures, including the discount threshold, from time to time when it believes such amendment is in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders and without prior notice. The Share Purchase Procedures, including any amendments thereto, are designed to comply with the conditions set forth in Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), which generally provides issuers, such as the Fund, with a safe harbor from liability for market manipulation when they repurchase their common stock in the open market in accordance with the conditions of the Rule. Any repurchases made pursuant to the Program will be made on a national securities exchange at the prevailing market price, subject to exchange requirements. The Fund’s share repurchase activity pursuant to the Program will be disclosed in its shareholder report for the relevant fiscal period.
The Program is intended to enhance shareholder value by purchasing Fund shares trading at a discount from their net asset value ("NAV") per share, which could result in incremental accretion to the Fund’s NAV. However, there is no assurance that share repurchases executed pursuant to the Program will be effective at reducing any discount in the open market price of Fund shares. There is also no assurance that the Fund will purchase shares at any particular discount levels or in any particular amounts, and the Fund may commence purchasing shares pursuant to the Program or suspend the Program at any time with or without prior notice. In addition, the Fund’s ability to purchase its shares may be limited due to reasons beyond the control of the Fund, including due to regulatory requirements or other legal considerations or adverse market conditions. The Board regularly monitors the effectiveness of the Program and may modify the Share Purchase Procedures, consistent with applicable law, at any time when it believes such modification to be in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders. The Board also may elect, at any time, to take actions other than open market purchases pursuant to the Program to seek to address the value of shareholder investments.