This article was posted on ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) at 3:58 p.m. on Nov. 19, 2025.
As the ruling party is pushing an amendment to the Commercial Act that would require corporations to cancel treasury shares, some small- and mid-cap listed companies are actively selling their treasury shares. Unlike large companies that take indirect routes such as issuing exchangeable bonds based on treasury shares, they are selling the treasury shares directly to third parties or releasing the shares into the market.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service electronic disclosure system on the 19th, GREEN Life Science sold 450,000 and 300,000 treasury shares on the 7th and 13th, respectively, to seven Dunamis Asset Management private investment trusts. GREEN Life Science raised a total of 2.4 billion won from the transactions.
The treasury shares GREEN Life Science sold this time are believed to be shares purchased on consignment since Aug. 2023. GREEN Life Science signed a treasury share purchase agreement with Yuanta Securities Korea and bought about 910,000 treasury shares through September. At the time the purpose of the buyback was stated as "stock price stabilization and enhancement of shareholder value," but in practice it appears the shares were sold externally to raise funds.
GREEN Life Science appears to have also realized tens of millions of won in capital gains from this treasury share sale. The purchase price for GREEN Life Science's treasury shares was about 2,215.9 won. But in this sale the selling prices were 2,847 won and 3,815 won, respectively.
This is not the first time GREEN Life Science has taken such action. In June it announced it would sell 250,000 treasury shares on the market at 4,010 won. Considering the recent transactions, the company appears to have disposed of all treasury shares it bought for 2 billion won so far, realizing about 1.4 billion won in capital gains.
A source in the capital markets industry said, "While disposing of treasury shares should be decided according to a corporation's financial plan, given recent circumstances it is hard to avoid suspicion that the sales were rushed with mandatory cancellation in mind," and added, "Selling treasury shares to private trusts may not immediately flood the market with shares, but from a shareholder value perspective it can be seen as unfavorable to shareholders."
With a bill for mandatory cancellation of treasury shares under discussion, the government is tightening regulation on reckless disposals by listed companies. In particular, as indirect disposals through exchangeable bonds have surged, financial authorities strengthened disclosure standards for issuing exchangeable bonds backed by treasury shares. Some large companies will not be allowed to easily sidestep scrutiny by selling treasury shares indirectly while watching shareholders and the government. In fact, KCC and Kwangdong Pharmaceutical Co. recently withdrew plans to issue exchangeable bonds, and Taekwang Industrial is also reported to be reconsidering its exchangeable bond issuance plans.
By contrast, small- and mid-cap KOSDAQ-listed companies such as GREEN Life Science are directly disposing of treasury shares without regard to external scrutiny. EcoPro BM on the 18th announced a plan to dispose of treasury shares worth 101.8 million won to pay part of the CEO's salary in stock. EcoPro BM has used treasury shares to pay employee bonuses annually, but this is the first time it has used them to pay a CEO's salary.
On the 5th, Chemtronics disclosed plans to sell 18.2 billion won worth of treasury shares to outside investors, saying the purpose was to raise investment funds for new businesses. In addition, several corporations including UTI, Hans Biomed and RF Materials are selling treasury shares through on- and off-exchange sales.