[DigitalToday reporter Sangyeob Oh (오상엽)] The Financial Services Commission has approved revisions to Korea Exchange listing rules to speed the exit of troubled companies. The market-cap threshold will be raised sooner, and delisting criteria will newly include penny stocks priced below 1,000 won and full capital impairment based on half-year results.

The commission said on Tuesday it had approved revisions to the Korea Exchange listing rules to implement the "delisting reform plan for the swift and strict exit of troubled companies" announced on Feb. 12.

The revisions aim to reduce damage to market trust from an accumulation of troubled companies, while allowing innovative firms to list smoothly and removing troubled firms strictly.

The key changes strengthen or create 4 delisting requirements common to KOSPI and KOSDAQ. First, the timing for raising market-cap requirements is moved forward from an annual basis to a half-year basis.

For KOSPI, the threshold rises to 30 billion won on July 1 and to 50 billion won on Jan. 1, 2027. For KOSDAQ, it is raised to 20 billion won and 30 billion won at the same dates, respectively.

Detailed application of the market-cap requirement will also change. Previously, a company was delisted if it failed to exceed the "10 consecutive trading days and 30 cumulative trading days" threshold during 90 trading days after being designated for administrative issues. Under the revisions, it will be delisted if it fails to exceed the "45 consecutive trading days" threshold during the 90-trading-day period.

Penny stocks priced below 1,000 won will also be newly introduced as a delisting requirement. If a company fails to meet the threshold for 30 consecutive trading days, it will be designated for administrative issues, and it will be finally delisted if it then fails to exceed the 45-consecutive-trading-day threshold during the following 90 trading days.

Measures will also be 마련됐다 to prevent обход to evade the penny-stock requirement. Companies that have conducted a stock consolidation or capital reduction within the past year will be barred from additional stock consolidation or capital reduction for 90 trading days after being designated for administrative issues under the penny-stock rule. Stock consolidation or capital reduction exceeding 10-to-1 will also be prohibited for 90 trading days after such designation.

The full capital impairment requirement will also be expanded. Previously, only full capital impairment at fiscal year-end qualified as a delisting requirement, but full capital impairment based on half-year results will also be included in delisting review.

Full capital impairment at fiscal year-end leads to delisting without review under formal requirements, but half-year full capital impairment will be subject to substantive review, including business continuity, before a delisting decision is made.

Disclosure violation standards will also be tightened. The cumulative threshold for disclosure penalty points over the past year will be lowered to 10 points from 15 points. Serious and intentional disclosure violations will be included in substantive delisting review even if they occur only once, regardless of penalty points. Existing cumulative penalty points will be applied after being converted to two-thirds.

The implementation timeline has also been set. The market-cap requirement will be raised in two steps on July 1 and Jan. 1, 2027. The new penny-stock requirement and tighter disclosure violation standards will take effect on July 1.

The half-year full capital impairment requirement will apply to companies whose half-year end comes after June 1, and related reviews will begin starting with 2026 first-half half-year reports.