All 829 Kospi-listed firms submit governance reports as Korea Exchange accelerates market reform

All 829 Kospi-listed companies submitted corporate governance reports this year, in effect extending the disclosure obligation across the entire Kospi.

According to the Korea Exchange, all 829 listed companies met the June 1 submission deadline. Six companies subject to delisting decisions or injunction applications were excluded.

Corporate governance reports are a disclosure regime through which companies explain to investors the state of their governance — covering board operations, shareholder rights protection and the independence of audit bodies. The Korea Exchange has operated the system since 2017, gradually expanding the pool of companies required to file based on asset size.

The obligation began in 2019 with companies holding total assets of 2 trillion won (about $1.32 billion) or more, then expanded to those with assets of 1 trillion won or more in 2022 and 500 billion won or more in 2024, before being extended to all Kospi-listed companies this year. As a result, the number of companies filing governance reports rose from 541 last year to 829 this year, an increase of 288. Of those, 789 are non-financial companies and 40 are financial firms.

"This expansion of the disclosure obligation will allow listed companies to provide investors with greater transparency on core governance matters — including board accountability, shareholder protection and the independence of audit bodies," a Korea Exchange official said. "We expect it to contribute to spreading a management culture centered on shareholder value and to laying the groundwork for a Korea premium in the country's capital markets."

The expansion also aligns with ongoing reforms to the delisting system. Starting in July, the Korea Exchange plans to tighten exit criteria for companies that fall short of market capitalization thresholds and to add shares trading below 1,000 won — commonly called "penny stocks" — as a new delisting requirement, as part of a broader effort to remove underperforming companies from the market. Market observers say the parallel moves to expand governance disclosures and tighten delisting standards should raise management transparency among listed companies and help restore confidence in the capital markets.