This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 2:18 p.m. on May 4, 2026.
SecuLetter, a KOSDAQ-listed company whose trading is suspended, scrapped a $3 billion won paid-in capital increase plan a day before the end of its improvement period. The company hit another snag just as expectations for trading to resume were rising after it resolved the audit opinion risk that had triggered the suspension. On the last day of the improvement period, it issued a convertible bond (CB) to refinance existing lending, but it is unclear whether the Korea Exchange (KRX), which holds the key to resuming trading, will view this as a factor improving its financial structure.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 4th, SecuLetter said on the 30th of the previous month that it would issue a CB worth 2 billion won to Dae-A Investment. This came after it canceled on the 29th a 3 billion won paid-in capital increase that SecuLetter Security Solution Second Investment Partnership was to pay in, and announced a new funding plan.
However, this CB issuance does not involve an inflow of new funds. It is structured to repay with a CB the 2 billion won borrowed from Dae-A Investment on the 6th of the previous month for operating funds at an annual interest rate of 8.5%. In effect, the existing loan is being replaced with a convertible bond.
It is a structure of rolling over debt with debt, but considering the issuance terms, this CB could lead to a cash inflow. The conversion price of the CB is 1,974 won, about 30% of SecuLetter's share price of 6,550 won before trading was suspended. If trading resumes, conversion to shares is expected instead of repayment. Of course, that depends on the tough condition that trading must resume.
SecuLetter's finances are weak. Last year's sales were 1.168 billion won, down about 17% from the previous year. The operating loss rose 41% to 4.287 billion won, cash and cash equivalents left at the company are about 600 million won, and total assets are only 5.1 billion won.
The funding plan disclosed as failed on the 30th of the previous month is a regrettable miss. SecuLetter had planned to secure operating funds through a paid-in capital increase. To that end, on Feb. 27 it decided on a 3 billion won third-party allotment paid-in capital increase to SecuLetter Investment Partnership. However, after three payment deferrals, it was canceled on the 29th of the previous month for failure to perform the contract.
With the end of last month's improvement period, SecuLetter plans to submit its implementation results to the Korea Exchange (KRX) and undergo a review on whether it will be delisted. While it succeeded in resolving the audit opinion issue that caused the trading suspension during the improvement period, the outcome of its financial improvement remains in question.
SecuLetter was listed on the KOSDAQ market in Aug. 2023, but trading was suspended in Apr. 2024, about seven months after listing, after receiving a disclaimer of opinion. The reason for the disclaimer was reportedly differences over the timing of revenue recognition for recording sales in the financial statements.
However, in Jan. last year, it succeeded in receiving an unqualified audit opinion through a re-audit of the previous three years of external audits. It also received an unqualified opinion in last year's external audit, so the audit report issue that caused the trading suspension has been addressed as a priority.
SecuLetter says its business outlook is positive and it has not given up hope for a trading resumption.
According to SecuLetter, the National Intelligence Service on the 17th of the previous month released the "Basic national cybersecurity guidelines," which introduce the National Network Security Framework (N2SF) that differentiates security levels by data importance. Under the guidelines, government agencies under NIS security control must adopt N2SF and increase their information security budgets by 15%. SecuLetter said it already has core N2SF technology.
A company official said, "We have done our best so far to normalize operations, including resuming trading, and concerns about operating funds were sufficiently reviewed during the audit process and have been partly resolved," adding, "We will faithfully carry out follow-up procedures upon the end of the improvement period." The Korea Exchange (KRX) plans to decide whether to maintain the listing after receiving the improvement plan implementation report by the 26th of this month and conducting a review.