Korea Exchange Implements Measures to Resolve Delays in Preliminary Listing Review

The Korea Exchange announced on the 27th that it plans to implement measures such as specialized review and procedural improvements to resolve delays in preliminary listing examinations.

Korea Exchange, Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The Exchange intends to completely separate the reviews of technology-specialized companies, which have higher review difficulty and relatively longer processing times, from those of general companies to enhance review processing efficiency and strengthen expertise. It will establish dedicated industry-specific review systems for sectors such as bio, information technology, and manufacturing to develop review standards reflecting industry characteristics and to advance review techniques. However, the review standards will be maintained as before to ensure that measures to resolve listing review delays do not lead to weakened investor protection functions.

Additionally, the Exchange will estimate the time required to resolve review issues early in the review process and prioritize companies that can be processed quickly regardless of application order. It will also promote pre-consultations with lead managers to encourage applicants to resolve major issues beforehand. If it is expected that issues cannot be resolved within a short period, the principle will be to process within a minimum timeframe rather than prolonging the review.

Furthermore, a special review task force (TF) will be established to promptly resolve review delays by deploying additional review personnel.

An Exchange official stated, "By specializing reviews, we will accumulate relevant technical expertise and enhance review capabilities to simultaneously improve review quality and shorten processing times." He added, "Differentiating processing times based on the severity of review issues will not only shorten review periods but also encourage lead managers to autonomously address issues before application." He further noted, "We will continuously review and promote process efficiency improvements and institutional reforms to resolve review delays in the future."