Online Education Stocks Plunge vs Kids-Related Stocks Surge

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 1st, stocks related to the delayed school opening due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) showed sharp fluctuations.

On the 31st of last month, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye held a briefing at the Government Complex Sejong and announced that online school opening will start on April 9 for 3rd-year high school and 3rd-year middle school students, and for the remaining grades, online school opening will be sequentially held on April 16 and 20 to begin remote classes. Additionally, kindergarten closures will be extended indefinitely until in-person attendance is possible.

Following this announcement, stocks related to kids surged close to the daily upper limit during trading. As of 10:54 a.m. that day, Samsung Publishing, the second largest shareholder of SmartStudy which produces the children's brand 'Pinkfong,' traded at 25,150 KRW, up 22.38% from the previous trading day. Tobox Korea, which sells Pinkfong and Baby Shark character products, also soared 29.52% to 1,110 KRW, moving out of penny stock territory.

On the other hand, online education-related stocks, which hit the daily upper limit the previous day amid speculation that all elementary, middle, and high schools would open online, fell more than 10%. On the 31st of last month, Icecream Edu, MegaMD, and Neungyule all recorded daily upper limits but turned to a downward trend on this day. It is interpreted that profit-taking is occurring as the online school opening, initially expected on the 6th, was postponed to the 9th, and the online school opening dates differ by grade.

Megastudy, which rose as much as 23.11% during the previous day’s trading, was trading at 10,500 KRW, down 11.02% at this time, and Icecream Edu also fell 10.78%.