[E-Daily Reporter Shin Ha-yeon ] It has been revealed that, this year, approximately four out of every 10 equity securities registration statements submitted by KOSDAQ-listed companies for capital increases have been required by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) to submit amended filings. As investor protection reviews for public capital increases—which entail shareholder dilution and financial risks—have become more stringent, the fundraising processes for some companies appear to be facing delays.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on the 7th, a total of 42 equity securities registration statements—excluding duplicates resulting from requests for amended filings—were submitted by KOSDAQ-listed companies for capital increases as of the 6th of this year. Of these, 17 cases—accounting for 40% of the total—received at least one request to submit an amended filing. A total of 28 announcements regarding such requests were made.

There were also quite a few companies that faced repeated requests for amendments. DGP(060900)and WINTEC Co.,Ltd.(320000)each received three requests to submit amended registration statements. Neuromeka Co., Ltd.(348340), DaedongGear(008830), SENSORVIEW CO., LTD.(321370), Thumbage Co., Ltd.(208640), Sangji Construction, Inc.(042940), ToolGen Incorporated(199800), and HYULIM A-TECH(078590) each received two such requests. In addition, HLB PHARMACEUTICAL(047920), KYUNG NAM PHARM.CO.,LTD.(053950), NGeneBio Co., Ltd.(354200), and ADM Korea Inc.(187660) were also subject to requests for amendments.
A rights offering is generally viewed as a negative signal by the market. This is because it inevitably dilutes the value of existing shareholders’ stakes and increases short-term supply-and-demand pressures. It can also be interpreted as a sign that the company is unable to cover its funding needs through external borrowing or its own cash flow alone, which often weighs on the stock price.
The recent case of ECOPRO BM CO., LTD.(247540) illustrates this point clearly. On the 30th of last month, after the market closed, ECOPRO BM CO., LTD. submitted a securities registration statement for a rights offering followed by a public offering of unsubscribed shares, totaling 1.1999 trillion won. Immediately after the announcement, ECOPRO CO., LTD. and ECOPRO BM CO., LTD. plummeted by nearly 20% in after-hours trading and closed down 12.76% and 6.88%, respectively, on the following trading day, the 1st.
Since a public rights offering is a method of raising funds in which the company directly seeks capital from its shareholders, the risk disclosures in the securities registration statement serve as a key mechanism for investor protection. Requests for corrections are, in effect, a process to verify whether investors have sufficient information to decide whether to participate in the capital increase. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) also stated at a meeting with securities firms last year regarding IPO and capital increase underwriting that it would closely scrutinize the justification for capital increases and the decision-making process.
Requests for corrections are not limited to the KOSDAQ market. HANWHA SOLUTIONS(009830), a company listed on the KOSPI market, underwent two rounds of correction requests this year, resulting in the amount of funds for debt repayment being reduced from the initial 1.4899 trillion won to 801.6 billion won. The initial offering price was also lowered from 32,250 won to 27,900 won, adjusting the total offering amount from 1.7092 trillion won to 1.4787 trillion won. KeyangElectricMachinery(012200)also submitted a securities registration statement for a 40.877 billion won rights offering and, following a request for corrections, supplemented the disclosure of investment risks.
However, some observers are voicing concerns that the burden of fundraising for listed companies is increasing. In fact, KOSDAQ companies facing repeated requests for corrections or delays in follow-up procedures are experiencing disruptions to their rights offering schedules. Agent AI submitted its initial securities registration statement on March 26 to secure working capital and other funds, but after receiving three requests for corrections, it has yet to file a revised registration statement. HanWool Semiconductor is pursuing a rights offering to support its MLCC post-process inspection equipment business; however, the payment date—originally scheduled for July 20 at the time of the initial filing—and the scheduled listing date for the new shares—July 31—have been postponed to September 11 and September 28, respectively. Sangji Construction, Inc. also launched a rights offering to raise working capital prior to the main project financing (PF) for its Nonhyeon-dong development project, but following a request for corrections, the record date for new share allocation and the subscription and payment schedule were pushed back by more than a month.
An official at a KOSDAQ-listed company stated, “There are growing concerns among companies currently pursuing rights offerings that the process leading up to the effective date of the securities registration statement is proving to be anything but smooth,” adding, “While the rationale of investor protection is necessary, companies with clear purposes for using the funds are voicing complaints that this is excessively narrowing the funding channels—which are the greatest advantage of being a listed company.”