GOLD&S, a company specializing in foreign language education platforms, said on Sep. 9 that it filed for an injunction against the Korea Exchange (KRX) to suspend the effectiveness of its designation as an issue under management and to prohibit a delisting decision.
GOLD&S was designated as an issue under management on Jul. 13 for failing to meet the market capitalization standard. With this injunction filing, the company aims to suspend the effectiveness of the designation until the final judgment in the main case is confirmed. An injunction to prohibit delisting due to insufficient market capitalization has also been filed, and its contours are expected to emerge after the final judgment in the main case is confirmed.
GOLD&S maintains that the revised and tightened listing rules are invalid because they violate the principle of proportionality and the principle of protection of legitimate expectations. The company said that although it had been pursuing measures such as business transfers to improve its financial structure under the listing rules revised in Jul. last year, the early implementation of the tightened listing rules in Feb. this year made it difficult to raise capital at an appropriate time, creating a conflict with the system.
In addition, the company believes there is a problem in that the exchange decided on delisting based solely on market capitalization and did not guarantee a sufficient preparation period, even though market capitalization reflects various factors that a listed company cannot control.
GOLD&S was said to have pursued plans to reorganize its business structure, improve profitability, and enhance corporate value in line with the existing rules. GOLD&S posted 13.4 billion won in revenue in the first half of this year, up 211.2% from a year earlier. Operating profit and net profit came to 840 million won and 1.9 billion won, respectively, swinging to a profit.
A company official said, "This injunction filing is a measure to prevent irreparable harm to shareholders and the company until the final judgment in the main case," and added, "Through proper legal action, we will seek recognition of the unfairness of applying the revised listing rules and protect shareholder rights."