Delisting Becomes Reality... Korea Exchange Designates 36 "Penny Stock" and "Market Cap Shortfall" Issues as Stocks Under Supervision

Administrative Supervision Begins from the 13th
Companies Must Recover for 45 Consecutive Days Within 90 Trading Days

As part of stricter delisting requirements, a large number of so-called “penny stocks” and stocks that fall short of market capitalization standards have been designated as stocks under supervision. If these companies fail to meet the requirements for 45 consecutive trading days out of the next 90 trading days, they will undergo delisting procedures.

According to the Korea Exchange as of the market close on August 12, a total of 36 stocks have been designated as stocks under supervision — either because their share price remained below 1,000 won for the past 30 trading days or because they failed to meet the minimum market capitalization standards required for continued listing. Of these, 30 were newly designated today, and 6 were already under supervision but had additional reasons for designation added.

Out of the 36, those designated solely because of a share price under 1,000 won (so-called “penny stocks”) include 3 on the KOSPI market and 21 on the KOSDAQ market.

Korea Exchange, Yeouido. Yonhap News Agency

Stocks that did not fall under the penny stock category but continuously failed to meet the market capitalization standard — 30 billion won for KOSPI or 20 billion won for KOSDAQ — totaled 9, with 5 on the KOSPI and 4 on the KOSDAQ.

In addition, there are 3 stocks (1 on the KOSPI and 2 on the KOSDAQ), including Ontide, Hyungji Global, and E8, that simultaneously failed both criteria — their share price remained below 1,000 won for the past 30 trading days and their market capitalization was below the required threshold.

Previously, in February, the Financial Services Commission announced “Delisting Reform Measures for Swift and Rigorous Removal of Insolvent Companies,” and starting last month, stocks on the KOSPI with a market capitalization below 30 billion won or on the KOSDAQ below 20 billion won for 30 consecutive trading days have been designated as stocks under supervision. In addition, a new rule was introduced stipulating that if a stock’s closing price remains under 1,000 won for 30 consecutive trading days, it will be designated for supervision. After being designated, if the company fails to meet the standards for more than 45 of the next 90 trading days, delisting procedures will follow.

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