The 194-Stock Death Queue: Seoul's Delisting Code Runs on Rules, Not Mercy"

"article": "One hundred ninety-four companies on South Korea's KOSDAQ exchange now carry market capitalizations below 20 billion won. That is 10.6 percent of every listed name on that exchange. Not a sector. Not a thematic basket. Ten percent of the entire market body, sitting on the wrong side of a number that moved on July 1.\n\nForty-one more on the KOSPI sit under the same line.\n\nThe index is not collapsing. The headlines are quiet. But the rulebook I have been reading operates like a smart contract, and the execution window is open.\n\nOn July 1, the Korea Exchange raised the market-cap floor for managed-stock designation. KOSDAQ: 15 billion won to 20 billion won. KOSPI: 20 billion won to 30 billion won. The rule is deterministic. A company whose market cap stays below the standard for 30 consecutive trading days becomes a managed stock. Once designated, recovery requires 45 consecutive trading days above the threshold, enclosed inside a 90-trading-day cage. Fail the cage, and delisting proceedings begin.\n\nThe price rule is harsher. Forty-eight companies — 38 on KOSDAQ, 10 on KOSPI — have already disclosed that their shares have traded below 1,000 won for 25 consecutive trading days. If those names do not touch 1,000 won by August 12, managed-stock designation triggers on the next trading day.\n\nTwo clocks. One deadline week. One hundred ninety-four names in the census, with more