Last year, only 42% of listed corporations had analyst reports published by domestic securities firms. For a majority of listed corporations, not a single report was published all year.
The Korea IR Association Corporate Research Center on the 11th analyzed and released the status of analyst reports published in 2025 by securities firms for domestic listed corporations.
The analysis showed that the total number of analyst reports published by securities firms last year was 27,747, up 2.4% from the previous year.
However, listed corporations for which not a single report was published during the year numbered 1,573, or 58% of the total. The Korea IR Association said, "A majority of listed corporations appear to be virtually left in a research blind spot."
It explained that this phenomenon is mainly due to coverage skewed toward large-cap KOSPI stocks. In fact, among all published reports, those on KOSPI corporations and corporations with a market cap of 500 billion won or more accounted for 76.8% and 86.9%, respectively.
The Korea IR Association Corporate Research Center said it will actively work to close the information gap for small and mid-cap listed corporations caused by the concentration of securities firm research on large caps.
Since its establishment, over the past four years, the Korea IR Association Corporate Research Center has been producing analyst reports on small and mid-cap corporations not covered by securities firms.
The center published a total of 633 reports last year, of which 81.8% were on KOSDAQ corporations and 88.5% were on corporations with a market cap of less than 500 billion won.
In particular, there were 321 reports targeting corporations not covered by securities firms, and 98.4% of them were small and mid-cap listed corporations.
It has also published in-depth reports averaging around 20 pages that comprehensively analyze corporate overviews, business structures, financial conditions, valuation and risk factors.
Starting this year, the Corporate Research Center said it will significantly expand the publication of artificial intelligence (AI)-based analyst reports with a mid- to long-term vision of "leaping to a K-small and mid-cap research hub and fully resolving information asymmetry."
In October last year, the center introduced an AI corporate analysis system and piloted 30 reports, and it plans to publish a total of 200 AI reports this year.
In addition, in the second half, it plans to lay the groundwork to fully cover corporations under 500 billion won in market cap that are not covered by securities firms by diversifying AI reports, including pilot publication of short-form reports.
Hwang Woo-kyung, head of the Corporate Research Center, said, "A lack of information on small and mid-cap listed corporations exacerbates information asymmetry in the capital market, hinders the formation of rational prices, and can negatively affect investor protection," adding, "Through a blend of AI technology and professional talent, we will continue to expand coverage so that not a single listed company is left in an information blind spot."