Exchange Announces Proposed Amendments to Business, Listing, and Disclosure Regulations to Revitalize KONEX

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The Korea Exchange announced on the 21st that it will revise the KONEX market operation, listing, and disclosure regulations, as well as the KOSDAQ market listing regulations, as a follow-up measure to implement the ‘KONEX Market Revitalization Plan.’

Through this revision, the Exchange plans to abolish the basic deposit system and significantly improve investment accessibility, which had been restricted compared to the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets. However, members will be required to notify and confirm investor precautions when submitting the initial order. The mandatory disclosure proxy duty of designated advisors will also be relaxed, allowing direct disclosure after one year of listing. The obligation to enter into liquidity supply contracts for certain corporations (those with more than 10% minority shareholder equity among newly listed companies) will be exempted to reduce the burden of maintaining listing.

Additionally, the current financial requirement for the rapid transfer listing system, which mandates a sales growth rate of 20%, will be eased to 10%. A new pathway allowing transfer listing based on market capitalization and liquidity evaluation has also been added. For rapid transfer companies, if they meet conditions such as a market capitalization of 150 billion KRW or more, an average daily trading volume of 1 billion KRW or more, a minority shareholder equity ratio of 20% or more, and continuous report submission by the listing sponsor, they can newly list. For unprofitable companies, if they meet a market capitalization of 75 billion KRW or more, an average daily trading volume of 100 million KRW or more, and a minority shareholder equity ratio of 20% or more, they can also newly list.

The Exchange plans to implement these changes on March 31 after collecting opinions from stakeholders and market participants and obtaining approval from the Financial Services Commission. However, the abolition of the basic deposit system and the exclusive small investor account, which require securities firms’ system upgrades, are scheduled to be implemented by the end of May. The KOSDAQ market listing regulations related to transfer listings will apply to companies applying for preliminary listing review after the effective date.

The Exchange stated, “The regulation revisions will provide practical assistance to KONEX listed companies, designated advisors, and investors, thereby encouraging new listings on KONEX.”

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