With the so-called "delisting season" approaching and the deadline for submitting audit reports for December settlement of account companies nearing, concerns among stock investors are growing. Listed companies must submit audit reports at least one week before the regular shareholders' meeting, but failing to meet the deadline could put them at risk of delisting, so investors should be cautious.
According to the Korea Exchange on the 21st, a total of 2,496 listed companies need to submit their audit reports this month. This includes 808 companies in the securities market and 1,703 in the KOSDAQ market. As of this month, 723 companies from the securities market and 1,393 from KOSDAQ have completed their audit report submissions, totaling 2,116. As of 7:35 a.m. that day, 85 companies from the securities market and 310 from KOSDAQ need to submit their reports by the deadline.
External auditors must submit audit reports to listed companies by one week before the regular shareholders' meeting, and listed companies are required to disclose the received audit reports by the day they are received.
If a company receives an "adverse opinion" in the audit or fails to submit the report, the likelihood of delisting increases. Business reports must be submitted within 90 days following the end of the business year, and if the deadline is missed, the company may be designated as a management issue. If the report is not submitted for more than 10 business days thereafter, grounds for delisting arise. Last year, 10 companies from KOSPI and 28 from KOSDAQ missed the audit report submission deadline.
There are already companies that failed to submit audit reports and have submitted a "business report submission extension notification." This includes 13 companies such as THE WILLBES&CO, RFsemi Technology, IL-YANG PHARM, Studio Santaclaus Entertainment, and others.
The settlement of account season is the most important time for investors, as the issue of delisting occurs most frequently. Among the 175 companies that were delisted in the past five years, 42 were delisted due to reasons related to the settlement of account, such as adverse audit opinions and failure to submit business reports, accounting for 24% of the total.
The day before, BUMYANG CONSTRUCTION, KC Cottrell, and KC GreenHoldings, which received an "opinion rejection" from external auditors, will have their stock trading suspended starting that day. KC Cottrell and KC GreenHoldings were already suspended from trading on the previous day due to rumors of adverse audit opinions since the 19th.