KRX flags 36 stocks for possible delisting

The Korea Exchange designated 36 stocks under administrative supervision under listing rules that the government tightened this summer to clear failing companies off the Korean stock market.

The label marks a company as at risk of losing its listing and starts a countdown that ends in delisting if the company cannot raise its trading price and market cap. Of the 36 stocks, 27 trade on the Kosdaq and nine on the Kospi.

Twenty-four were designated based on their share price alone. Out of the 24, three are on the Kospi and 21 on the Kosdaq. The rule behind those designations took effect July 1 and covers so-called penny stocks, meaning any share that closes below 1,000 won ($0.71) for 30 consecutive trading days.

Nine others held above the 1,000-won threshold but fell short of the market value a company now needs to stay listed. The exchange raised that floor in July to 30 billion won on the Kospi and 20 billion won on the Kosdaq. Five of the nine trade on the Kospi and four on the Kosdaq.

The remaining three, one on the Kospi and two on the Kosdaq, failed both tests. Their shares closed below 1,000 won and their market values stayed under the minimum for 30 straight sessions.

Under the revised rules, a designated company has 90 trading days to climb back above the line and hold there for 45 consecutive sessions. Any company that cannot do so goes straight into delisting proceedings.

BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]