This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 8:07 a.m. on Feb. 4, 2026.
KOSDAQ-listed Woori Technology made a profit of 10 billion won by trading its own convertible bonds (CB).
Woori Technology was in a situation of so-called "CB rollover," issuing another CB to repay principal to investors in previously issued CBs. But it succeeded in selling the CBs it bought from investors at a much higher value thanks to a short-term share price rise.
Some small shareholders are voicing complaints. Although it issued another CB to repay CBs, it did not cancel the existing CBs and resold them. As a result, concerns about an overhang (potential sell volume) are growing.
According to investment banks (IB) and the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 4th, Woori Technology decided on the 2nd to sell its 15th CB to Leading Investment & Securities for 14,650,330,838 won. The CB in question is estimated to be the batch it acquired for 5.36 billion won by exercising a call option on the 29th of last month. It effectively succeeded in reselling just days after acquisition at three times the price.
The CB issued in 2024 was held by Suseong Asset Management, Artman Asset Management, JC Asset Asset Management, Earning Asset Management, and KCGI Alternative Investment Management, among others. In a situation where large gains were expected, they had to swallow their disappointment due to the company's call option.
While this was the deal that benefited Woori Technology the most, acquirer Leading Investment & Securities can also expect a sizable gain. The conversion price of the CB acquired by Leading Investment & Securities is only 2,245 won. If the current share price holds and the entire 5 billion won is converted into shares, the market value would be about 19.5 billion won. It would be an easy 5 billion won profit in a month.
Woori Technology's share price soared while the CB trades were taking place. Its shares stayed in the low 4,000-won range early this year, but began to surge in the middle of last month and climbed to the high 8,000-won range—nearly doubling in about two weeks.
With this CB sale, Woori Technology will post more profit than it makes from its operations. The company recorded an accumulated operating loss of 4.3 billion won through the third quarter of last year, and its full-year 2024 operating profit was only 553.92 million won.
Some small shareholders argue that since Woori Technology previously issued another CB for the purpose of CB repayment, it should have canceled, not resold, the CB acquired this time.
In fact, Woori Technology was in the middle of a CB rollover. The 19th CB issued in Nov. last year totaled 22 billion won, of which 16 billion won was to be used for CB repayment. The plan was to use it to repay the 10 billion won aggregates of the 15th CB and 5.6 billion won of the 7 billion won 16th CB.
An official in the investment banking (IB) industry said, "Issuing another CB for the purpose of CB repayment and then reselling the acquired volume is a decision that can be questioned," adding, "However, given the large sale gains, it likely would have been difficult for the company to decide to cancel them."
Woori Technology is a corporations founded in 1993 by Seoul National University alumni, and it localized the integrated main control and monitoring system (MMIS), a core technology for nuclear power plants. Recently, it has diversified into eco-friendly businesses such as defense, offshore wind power, and smart farms. However, results remain modest and fall short of expectations.