Hansung Enterprise shares surge 11% as delisting fears over 'patriotic company' spark buying frenzy

News that Hansung Enterprise, a domestic seafood food company, faces delisting has sparked a wave of online support, with consumers rushing to buy its products and investors snapping up its shares in what some are calling "cheering investments." The rally briefly pushed the share price up more than 11%.

Orders on Hansung Enterprise's official online store, Hansung Market, jumped by tens of times their usual volume on Monday, according to industry sources. The sudden surge left some products sold out and caused delivery delays.

The buying frenzy appears to have been triggered by posts circulating on the social media platform Threads, which described Hansung Enterprise — known for using domestically sourced ingredients — as a company on the brink of delisting, prompting a grassroots "save Hansung Enterprise" movement.

Hansung Enterprise is a mid-sized Kospi-listed food manufacturer best known for its "Kraemi" imitation crab products. The company's earnings have deteriorated due to rising raw material costs and impairment losses on trade receivables. Last year, sales fell 4.2 percent year-on-year to 318.4 billion won ($208 million), while operating profit dropped nearly half, from about 11 billion won to 5.8 billion won.

Last month, the share price slid to 4,200 won, pulling market capitalization down to around 26.1 billion won and raising the prospect of delisting. Korea Exchange raised the minimum market capitalization threshold for delisting from 20 billion won to 30 billion won starting in July, meaning Hansung Enterprise must lift its share price to at least 4,835 won to stay listed.

As the news spread across social media, users rallied behind the slogan "let's save a patriotic company" and began posting proof of their purchases. The campaign also brought renewed attention to Hansung Enterprise's record of fully sponsoring and organizing a peace concert for UN war veterans every year for more than 25 years since 2009.

One user shared a photo of sausages they had purchased, noting that both the chicken and pork were domestically sourced and the price was around 9,000 won. Another said they had bought 10 shares "to send a small show of support to a homegrown Korean company in difficulty." Posts certifying completed purchases — "bought as soon as Monday arrived" — continued to pile up online.

The surge in orders caused products on Hansung Market to sell out temporarily and led to delivery delays. The company posted a notice saying it had received far more orders than expected and that some items might be canceled due to insufficient stock.

Hansung Enterprise's share price jumped as high as 4,720 won during trading on Monday, a gain of 11.58 percent from the previous day's closing price of 4,230 won. As of 11:40 a.m. Tuesday, the share price stood at 5,000 won.

Hansung Enterprise expressed gratitude for the outpouring of consumer support. In a social media post Monday night, the company said all of its employees had been "surprised and deeply moved" by the flood of new sign-ups on Hansung Market, the surge in orders, and the warm messages posted online.

The company added that it felt "boundlessly grateful, yet also a heavy sense of responsibility and humility" at being praised as a "patriotic" company that prioritizes domestic ingredients, and pledged to remain "an honest food company that stays true to the basics."

However, the company drew a line against the perception held by some that it uses only domestically sourced ingredients, clarifying that it also uses imported raw materials.

"We do our best to prioritize domestic ingredients, but we also selectively use raw materials from various countries," the company said. "We believe it is right to disclose this honestly to prevent any misunderstanding."

On the veterans' concert sponsorship, the company said it was "grateful for the generous praise" of being called a patriotic company, but added that "the event would not be possible without the volunteer efforts of musicians," and that it would "share the kind words with them."