Growing Policy Risks... IPOs Also Facing Consecutive Setbacks

Kakao Pay Revises Securities Registration Statement... Listing Delayed Next Month
Raphine Postpones Listing Schedule by One Month Ahead of Loan Regulation Announcement

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] Recently, as regulatory risks from the government have increased, cases of disruptions in corporate public offering (IPO) schedules have been occurring one after another.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on the 16th, Kakao Pay has informed the FSS of its intention to revise the securities registration statement submitted for listing on the Korea Exchange. An FSS official stated, "We discussed the scope of corrections to the securities registration statement with Kakao Pay, and Kakao Pay voluntarily decided to revise the statement," adding, "If the corrections are significant, Kakao Pay may postpone the subscription schedule to protect investors, and if the corrections are insufficient, the FSS may request further revisions."

Earlier, the Financial Services Commission concluded that some of Kakao Pay's services constitute brokerage activities rather than simple advertisements, and announced that by the end of the guidance period under the Financial Consumer Protection Act on the 24th, Kakao Pay must register as a brokerage operator or discontinue the services. Kakao Pay decided to suspend its automobile insurance premium comparison service.

Kakao Pay submitted its securities registration statement on July 2, but the schedule was delayed once due to the FSS's request for corrections. After submitting the revised securities registration statement on the 31st of last month, it planned to list on October 14, but the recent Financial Services Commission's judgment of violation of the Financial Consumer Protection Act has caused disruptions to the listing schedule.

On the previous day, Refine, a prop-tech company pursuing the first domestic IPO, announced that it submitted a revised securities registration statement to the FSS and postponed its listing schedule. Refine originally planned to conduct demand forecasting and general subscription by the end of this month and list on the KOSDAQ market in early October, but as financial authorities are expected to announce additional household loan measures after Chuseok, the public offering schedule was delayed by about one month. A Refine official stated, "About 90% of Refine's sales come from services related to jeonse loans, so voluntary revision of the securities registration statement was inevitable to protect investors."

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