[Edaily Reporter Shin Ha-yeon ] With stricter criteria for maintaining KOSDAQ listings set to take full effect in July, a series of public announcements expressing concerns about falling short of market capitalization thresholds have been issued. Criteria such as penny stocks or failing to meet market capitalization thresholds are formal requirements under which delisting decisions are made based on quantitative standards without separate review. Even low-priced stocks with solid performance or growth potential may face limited opportunities to defend their listings. Critics argue that regulators are neglecting to distinguish between quality and substandard companies in their rush to accelerate delistings.

Pintel Co., Ltd.(291810) SEJIN T.S CO., LTD.(067770) RYUK-IL C&S., Ltd(191410) A.F.W Co., Ltd(312610) WELKEEPS HITECH(043590) Soosung Webtoon(084180) Gold&S(035290) OSP Co., Ltd(368970) KMPHARMACEUTICAL Co.,Ltd.(225430) SILLA SG CO., LTD.(025870) SILLA SG CO., LTD., KMPHARMACEUTICAL Co.,Ltd., OSP Co., Ltd., Gold&S, Soosung Webtoon, and A.F.W Co., Ltd.—have been flagged this month as candidates for designation as “monitored stocks” due to their market capitalization falling below 20 billion won. Among these, SILLA SG CO., LTD., KMPHARMACEUTICAL Co.,Ltd., OSP Co., Ltd., Gold&S, Soosung Webtoon, and A.F.W Co., Ltd.—have already been designated as monitored stocks.
Falling below the market capitalization threshold is a formal ground for delisting against which no separate appeal is possible. On the KOSDAQ market, a company is designated as a “monitored stock” if its common stock market capitalization remains below the threshold for 30 consecutive trading days. If, over the subsequent 90 trading days, the company fails to exceed the threshold for 45 consecutive trading days, delisting proceedings will commence without a substantive review.
There is a high likelihood that additional similar cases will emerge. As of the closing price on the 20th, there were 221 stocks on the KOSDAQ market with a market capitalization of less than 20 billion won. The market capitalization threshold will rise from 20 billion won this July to 30 billion won next year.
The problem is that such quantitative criteria could uniformly put pressure to delist even stocks that have solid performance or growth potential. Similarly, among penny stocks that meet the formal delisting criteria—defined as those with a KOSDAQ closing price of less than 1,000 won as of today (excluding stocks under special supervision or those subject to investment warnings)—36 companies belong to the Blue-Chip or Mid-Cap sectors and have a market capitalization of 30 billion won or more. For example, Han Kook Capital Co., Ltd., whose stock price of 698 won qualifies it as a penny stock, belongs to the Prime Market segment with a market capitalization of 223.5 billion won; its consolidated operating profit over the past three years has also increased to 82.1 billion won, 96.9 billion won, and 127.9 billion won, respectively.
This is why some point out that the sophistication of the implementation process is just as important as the speed at which the policy is rolled out. Jeong Do-jin, a professor in the Department of Business Administration at Chung-Ang University, noted, “Even if the government sets the policy direction, implementation must be entrusted to experts,” adding, “We need to allow room for on-the-ground deliberation and flexibility; it is concerning to enforce only one-size-fits-all standards.” He continued, “It is crucial that the system operates in a way that can accommodate opposing views raised during the implementation process.”
An exchange official explained, “Since the notice of proposed amendments to the relevant regulations was issued and discussions began last year, we went through a public comment process while drafting the regulations, and the details of the regulations had already been announced.”