"Invest Now and Lose Everything": 14 High-Risk Stocks Facing Delisting

Fantagio, Home to Cha Eunwoo, Among Companies Failing Multiple Delisting Criteria
A Total of 124 Stocks Fall Short of Financial Services Commission’s Standards

As the process of removing insolvent companies from the domestic stock market accelerates, more than 120 companies have been found to fall short of the financial authorities' criteria. In particular, there are 14 companies facing a double crisis, as they are both penny stocks and have low market capitalizations.

A total of 14 companies fell below both the penny stock and market capitalization criteria. Fantagio is one of these 14 companies. Its main artists include Cha Eunwoo and Kim Sunho. Fantagio.

According to financial information provider FnGuide on February 27, as of the closing price on February 23, there were 124 listed companies that did not meet the delisting standards announced by the Financial Services Commission.

Earlier, on January 21 and February 12, the Financial Services Commission announced stock market delisting reform plans on two occasions to swiftly and strictly remove insolvent companies from the domestic stock market. This initiative was introduced as part of the Lee Jaemyung administration's efforts to strengthen the stock market.

The Financial Services Commission stated that it would delist companies that meet any of the following criteria: penny stocks with share prices below 1,000 won; companies with a market capitalization below 30 billion won on the KOSPI or below 20 billion won on the KOSDAQ; complete capital impairment based on semiannual results; 10 or more cumulative penalty points; and sales of less than 10 billion won on the KOSPI or less than 5 billion won on the KOSDAQ. Among these, the criteria for penny stocks, market capitalization, capital impairment, and 10 penalty points will be applied starting July 2026.

Currently, there are 58 companies classified as penny stocks. Since companies can increase their share price to above 1,000 won through stock consolidation, the Financial Services Commission stated that even if the post-consolidation share price exceeds 1,000 won, if the share price is lower than the face value, the company will still be subject to delisting. Accordingly, companies whose current share price is higher than the face value were excluded.

There are 77 companies that do not meet the market capitalization criterion, and 3 companies that fall short of the sales requirement. For the sales requirement, the standard is applied only to KOSPI companies with a market capitalization below 100 billion won and KOSDAQ companies below 60 billion won, so bio companies with no sales but high market caps have been excluded.

A total of 14 companies fell short of both the penny stock and market capitalization criteria. The criteria for capital impairment and disclosure violations could not be assessed under the current standards and were excluded from this analysis.

Among these, the company with the lowest market capitalization is ITOX. As of the closing price on February 23, ITOX's share price was 465 won, and its market capitalization was about 6.7 billion won.

ITOX is a game publishing company. Its major game titles include "The God of High School," "Cheonsangbi K," and "TRAHA." Last year, the company also established a local joint venture in Ukraine to enter the country's reconstruction business. However, its business performance has continued to deteriorate, and the share price has been on a downward trend.

Fantagio is also one of the 14 companies. Fantagio operates an entertainment management business. Its main artists include Cha Eunwoo and Kim Sunho. Recently, Cha Eunwoo has been embroiled in a tax evasion controversy involving over 20 billion won, while Kim Sunho has also faced allegations related to a personal corporation and tax evasion. Fantagio itself previously received a tax assessment for additional value-added tax in the amount of 8.2 billion won. As a result, Fantagio's share price, which reached 2,450 won in 2024, has now plunged to the 300-won range.

Among the companies that fall short of the sales requirement, Ascendio stands out. Ascendio posted estimated sales of 5.9 billion won last year. If it fails to show results again this year, it may be added to the delisting list.

Ascendio is also an entertainment management company. Notably, last month, Chairman Namgoong Kyeon, who sits at the top of Fantagio's ownership structure, acquired this company. Chairman Namgoong is known as a "corporate raider" in the M&A market.

The Financial Services Commission stated, "If insolvent companies are quickly removed, we will also improve the listing system so that promising innovative companies can be listed smoothly in their place," adding, "We aim to create a trustworthy market for investors by implementing innovations that amount to a complete redesign of the stock exchange."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.