Hansung Enterprise(003680) and Monami(005360) were up by double digits early on the 14th. As they faced possible delisting after KOSPI toughened its listing maintenance standards, a wave of "patriotic buying" calling to save the two companies spread online, drawing a rush of investor purchases.
At 9:20 a.m. that day on the main bourse, Hansung Enterprise was trading at 11,840 won, up 2,540 won (27.31%) from the previous session.
At the same time, Monami was trading at 2,650 won, up 610 won (29.9%) from the previous session.
The surge in Hansung Enterprise and Monami shares was driven mainly by individual investors' "patriotic buying." Starting this month, KOSPI's market cap threshold to maintain a listing was raised to 30 billion won from 20 billion won, prompting delisting concerns for Hansung Enterprise and Monami, whose market caps had stayed in the 20 billion won range.
In response, among internet users, word spread that Hansung Enterprise has supported a concert honoring Korean War veterans for 25 years through the incorporated association Patriots' Culture Promotion Committee, leading to a wave of supportive buying. Consumers' product purchase verifications and investors' stock purchase verifications are also spreading like a trend.
Monami was likewise cited as a leading patriotic theme stock during the boycott movement sparked by Japan's semiconductor materials export restrictions in 2019. Monami drew attention as a domestic product replacing Japan-made writing instruments.