▲ The Korea Exchange (KRX) building in western Seoul (Yonhap)

KRX-delisting

KRX to strengthen substantive review for delisting

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's main bourse operator announced Thursday various plans to strengthen its substantive review for delisting as part of efforts to expedite the exit of troubled companies.

The move from the Korea Exchange (KRX) comes in line with the government's efforts to revamp the smaller, venture-heavy KOSDAQ, aiming to transform it into the likes of Nasdaq in the United States.

Under the proposed plans, when multiple companies with the same controlling shareholder are subject to substantive delisting reviews from the KRX, they will be reviewed together, instead of being reviewed individually, to speed up the examination process.

The bourse operator will also tighten the criteria for complete capital impairment and noncompliance with disclosure obligations.

Companies that are under a substantive review will have to make improvements within one year, the KRX said, which is shorter than the current grace period of 1 1/2 years.

The bourse operator said it created a new team dedicated to delisting examinations earlier this month and plans to conduct a special monitoring of troubled companies until June 2027.

A total of 23 companies were delisted last year, the highest figure since 2010, with each taking an average of 384 days to exit the market, according to the KRX.

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