The deadline for submitting audit reports for corporations with a December settlement of account was on the 21st, and Kumyang, a secondary battery company, received an 'opinion rejection' for its audit report from last year, leading to a suspension of stock trading. Listed companies on the KOSPI including Well Biotec, SEWON E&C, and KUKBO also disclosed that they received an 'opinion rejection' from their auditors on this day.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system (DART) on this day, Kumyang submitted its audit report at 5:44 p.m., stating that it received an 'opinion rejection' from its auditor. On this day, rumors regarding Kumyang's 'unqualified opinion' circulated in the market, leading the Korea Exchange to require a disclosure inquiry after regular market closing, and trading of Kumyang's stocks was suspended from around 5 p.m.
Last year, Kumyang's sales were 134.5 billion won, a 1% decrease from the previous year. The operating loss increased from 16.9 billion won in 2023 to 43 billion won last year, and the net loss more than doubled from 65.8 billion won to 132.9 billion won.
On this day, listed companies on the KOSPI including Well Biotec, SEWON E&C, and KUKBO announced via disclosure that they received an 'opinion rejection' from their auditors. Earlier, KOSPI-listed companies KC GreenHoldings, KC Cottrell, and BUMYANG CONSTRUCTION had their stock trading suspended starting this day after receiving an 'opinion rejection' from external auditors the previous day. KC Cottrell and KC GreenHoldings had their stock trading halted the day prior due to the rumors of an unqualified opinion circulating since the 19th.
As of this day, 43 listed companies had made disclosures regarding delays in submitting their audit reports, with six companies listed on the KOSPI and 37 on the KOSDAQ. ITOXI, a game distribution and publishing company and KOSDAQ-listed firm, disclosed that it failed to submit its audit report on time after the regular market closing, resulting in a sharp drop in its stock price during after-hours trading.
External auditors must submit audit reports to listed companies by one week prior to the annual general shareholders' meeting, and listed companies are required to disclose the reports by the day they receive them. If a report is not submitted, there is a greater risk of delisting. Business reports must be submitted within 90 days of the end of the business year; failure to meet this deadline may result in the company being designated as a management issue. Furthermore, if a company exceeds 10 business days without submission, grounds for delisting arise. Issues may also arise where problems are discovered during the external auditor's review of the company's accounting materials, resulting in delays in submitting the audit report, warranting caution from investors.