Stocks Soared Threefold on 'Patriotic Buying,' Then Faced Trading Halt... What Happened? [Weekend Money]

Hansung Enterprise and Monami Shares Triple in Value This Month
'Rescuing Good Companies' Craze Fuels Stock Surge
Short-Term Spike Triggers Investment Warnings and Trading Halts
Saved From the Brink of Delisting

The recent wave of "patriotic buying" by investors has rescued companies on the verge of being delisted. The cases of Hansung Enterprise and Monami are prime examples. Both companies managed to avoid the threat of delisting as strong buying pressure persisted and stock prices soared. However, due to the steep short-term rises, Hansung Enterprise saw trading halted for a day, and Monami was designated as a stock subject to trading suspension.

According to the Korea Exchange on July 17, trading for Hansung Enterprise was suspended the previous day for one day, due to the stock price having jumped more than 40% over two consecutive days after its designation as an investment warning stock. Previously, the exchange designated Hansung Enterprise as an investment warning stock on July 13 and announced a forthcoming trading suspension on July 14.

Monami was also designated as an investment warning stock on July 14 and trading suspension was announced on July 15. The exchange stated that if Monami's closing price on July 16 rose by more than 40% compared to its closing price on July 14 and exceeded the closing price on the day prior to the warning, trading would be suspended for one day on July 20. Monami closed at 2,650 won on July 14 and at 3,445 won on July 15. On July 17, it ended at 3,730 won, up 8.27%. This represents a 40.75% increase compared to July 14 and is higher than the July 15 closing price of 3,445 won, making it likely that trading will be suspended on July 20.

So far this month, Hansung Enterprise has climbed 244.89% and Monami 210.83%, ranking first and second in growth rate, respectively.

At the beginning of the month, both of these stocks had market capitalizations under 30 billion won, putting them at risk of delisting. The financial authorities recently strengthened delisting regulations and raised the minimum market capitalization requirement for KOSPI-listed companies to 30 billion won from this month. As of July 1, Hansung Enterprise had a market capitalization of 26.7 billion won and Monami 23.8 billion won.

Once this news spread, a sense of solidarity grew on online stock communities and social networking services (SNSs), with many expressing, "We cannot allow our national companies to simply disappear from the market." This quickly led to a wave of voluntary buying.

In particular, the positive story of Hansung Enterprise, a seafood processing company famous for its "Crabmeat Stick" brand, ignited further buying. Online, it was rediscovered that Hansung Enterprise had quietly supported a peace music concert for Korean War veterans for 25 years. Among investors, the consensus spread rapidly that "a good company that has supported those who served the country deserves to be saved," fueling not only stock purchases but also a campaign known as "Donjjul" (showing financial support as a reward), where people posted photos confirming their product purchases and investment accounts.

Additionally, the local stationery brand Monami also benefited from what is now called the "National Ballpoint Pen Protection Movement." During Japan’s semiconductor export restrictions in 2019, Monami gained attention as a domestic replacement and became a leading "patriotic theme stock." Once again, retail investors rushed in to support the company and help it avoid delisting.

The sustained voluntary buying has driven both companies' market capitalizations comfortably above the delisting threshold. As a result of their rapid stock price increases this month, Hansung Enterprise's market capitalization has reached 90.1 billion won and Monami’s has grown to 71.1 billion won, comfortably meeting the requirements for maintaining their listings.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.