South Korea’s large-cap stocks lag behind their smaller local rivals in terms of both dividend payout ratio and dividend yield ratio despite their huge cash reserves, data showed on Tuesday.

SK Telecom Co. and KT&G Corp. were the only large-cap shares among the 41 local stocks whose dividend yield ratios topped 3 percent for the third consecutive year, according to data compiled by Korea Exchange.

SK Telecom, the country’s top mobile operator, posted an average dividend yield ratio of 4.83 percent from 2011 to 2013, the highest among large-cap stocks traded on the country’s main bourse. The comparable figure for KT&G, the country’s top cigarette maker, was 3.96 percent during the cited period. (Yonhap)