Owners open wallets to defend share prices, bet on future growth

Owners and major shareholders of small and mid-sized listed companies are increasingly dipping into their own pockets to buy shares in their firms. "Responsible management" and "confidence in the future" are the stated reasons, but the motivations differ from company to company. For some, the immediate pressure of a new penny-stock delisting rule is the driving force; for others, the urgency lies in securing funding for future business investment.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's DART system and industry sources Monday, the largest shareholders or owner families of Daedong, Hanmi Semiconductor, Creverse, Welcron and Hansaemk have recently purchased shares in their respective companies.

Daedong said Chairman Kim Jun-sik and six other senior executives at the group and its affiliates bought a combined 195,010 shares on the open market, for a total of about 1.53 billion won. Kim's personal purchases are estimated at around 1 billion won. From June 11 through June 17 — five trading days — Kim bought 130,000 Daedong shares in his own name, lifting his personal stake to approximately 28.09 percent.

Daedong is expanding from agricultural machinery manufacturing into AI farming, robotics and agri-tech. The chairman's decision to increase his stake personally — at a time when the farm equipment sector is slowing and investment costs are mounting — has been read by the market as a signal that the owner is putting his own money on the company's agricultural transformation.

Hanmi Semiconductor Chairman Kwak Dong-shin has also been consistently buying shares in his company. In his most recent purchase, he spent about 8 billion won to acquire an additional 23,657 shares on the open market. Since 2023, Kwak's cumulative personal purchases have reached 64.5 billion won, bringing his stake to approximately 33.59 percent.

Hanmi Semiconductor is an AI semiconductor equipment stock whose flagship product is the TC bonder used in HBM production. An owner's open-market share purchase during a period of heightened share price volatility is widely seen as a key indicator of responsible management. The move comes particularly as Hanwha Semitech's entry into the TC bonder market has raised questions about Hanmi Semiconductor's dominant position, with the company now focusing its efforts on overseas expansion.

Kim Young-hwa, the largest shareholder and chairman of edtech firm Creverse, also recently bought 9,663 shares on the open market, lifting his stake from 15.96 percent to 16.05 percent. The company said the purchase reflected a judgment that the current share price does not adequately reflect the company's business fundamentals and growth potential.

Creverse operates English, mathematics and coding education content alongside a digital learning platform. Education stocks tend to move more on dividends, earnings stability and shareholder return policies than on growth-stock reratings. Kim's purchase is being interpreted as a confidence signal from the largest shareholder during a period of undervaluation.

By contrast, a number of other share purchases appear to be driven by the tightening of penny-stock delisting requirements. Welcron disclosed that President Shin Jeong-jae bought 25,200 shares on the open market between June 11 and June 17. His stake rose from 1.70 percent to 1.79 percent. Welcron's share price has been hovering just above the 1,000-won mark, and a further decline could put the company at risk of delisting.

Starting July 1, the Financial Services Commission will apply new delisting criteria to stocks trading below 1,000 won. A stock will be designated a watch-list issue if its price stays below 1,000 won for 30 consecutive trading days, and will face final delisting if it fails to recover above 1,000 won for 45 consecutive trading days within the following 90 trading days.

Hansaemk's purchase carries a similarly defensive character. Cho Young-su — honorary chairwoman of the Hansae YES24 Cultural Foundation, wife of Hansae YES24 Group founder Kim Dong-nyeong and mother of Hansaemk CEO Kim Ji-won — has announced a plan to buy 279,330 common shares of Hansaemk on the open market for about 300 million won between July 20 and Aug. 18. The company said the purpose of the transaction was "to enhance corporate value through direct acquisition of company shares." Hansaemk closed at 986 won on June 11.