Advance Notification Issued for Auditor Designations
1,230 Companies Included for 2026 Fiscal Year
547 Newly Designated; Listed and Unlisted Firms Affected
Companies Must Respond Within Two Weeks of Notice
System Aims to Ensure Indepen
The financial authorities have given prior notice of the results of auditor designation, including periodic and discretionary assignments, to a total of 1,230 companies.
According to the "Prior Notice of Auditor Designation Results for the 2026 Fiscal Year" announced by the Financial Supervisory Service on October 17, the prior notification covers a total of 1,230 companies, including 506 subject to periodic designation and 724 subject to discretionary designation. This represents a decrease of four companies compared to the previous year.
Of these, 910 are listed companies-257 on the KOSPI and 626 on the KOSDAQ-and 320 are unlisted companies. Among the total, 547 companies were newly designated this year, while 683 were consecutively designated based on previous reasons for designation.
For periodic designation, 179 companies were newly designated, including 171 listed companies and 8 large unlisted companies. The average asset size of the newly designated listed companies, on a separate basis, is 686.2 billion won. The average for KOSPI companies is approximately 2.5 trillion won, and for KOSDAQ companies, about 186.3 billion won.
For discretionary designation, 368 companies were newly designated, including 145 listed companies and 223 unlisted companies. By reason for designation, 202 companies are scheduled for listing, 78 companies failed to meet financial criteria such as recording operating losses for three consecutive years, and 31 companies are under administrative management.
Companies and auditors must submit requests for re-designation or opinions within two weeks of this prior notice. Submitted opinions will be reviewed and reflected in the official notice scheduled for November 12, 2025. An audit contract must be signed within two weeks after the official notice.
The Financial Supervisory Service explained, "We plan to support the smooth execution of designated audits by flexibly extending deadlines within the scope that does not hinder audit work."
The auditor designation system is a system in which the Securities and Futures Commission designates auditors, rather than allowing companies to freely appoint them, in order to ensure auditor independence and improve audit quality.
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