Factual Summary
Soosung Webtoon closed at KRW 672 on 2026-08-14 (+29.98% vs. previous close, trading volume of 376,475 shares). The company posted consolidated revenue of KRW 92.77bn and operating profit of KRW 5.21bn in 2025, turning profitable, and recorded cumulative H1 2026 revenue of KRW 47.24bn and operating profit of KRW 2.34bn. On 2026-08-12, the Korea Exchange newly designated the company as an administrative issue on grounds that its closing price had remained below KRW 1,000 for 30 consecutive trading days, and the stake of the largest shareholder, Toomics Holdings, fell from 51.00% as of 2025-12-31 to 43.13% as of 2026-08-13, due in part to forced share sales from collateral enforcement.
Price-Change Context Note
According to media analysis, the 2026-08-14 daily upper-limit surge was not driven by favorable earnings, but rather by heightened volatility in a low-priced penny stock immediately following the 2026-08-12 administrative-issue designation; a number of other KOSDAQ administrative issues also hit their upper price limit on the same day (Etoday, 2026-08-14). At the 2026-07-22 extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, the CEO was replaced, with Hong Tak-wan succeeding Yoo Yeong-hak, and on 2026-08-12 an advance notice of designation as an unfaithful disclosure entity was received, stemming from the 2026-01-14 rights-offering decision that was later withdrawn.
Business Structure
Soosung Webtoon was founded in 1973 as a manufacturer of logistics equipment (forklifts, etc.) and, after several changes of trade name, adopted its current name in February 2024 (KIND disclosure receipt no. 20240219000454). In 2024, the company pivoted to the content business by acquiring a stake in the adult webtoon platform Toomics.
Subsidiary Toomics is a global subscription-based webtoon platform offered in 11 languages, with overseas revenue accounting for more than 80% of total sales (business research, secondary source).
5-Year Financial Trend
Financial Soundness
Between 2024 and 2025, both assets and equity declined sharply, and the debt-to-equity ratio rose sharply as a result. The confirmed disclosure figures alone cannot pinpoint the precise accounting cause (changes in the scope of consolidation, impairment losses, equity transactions, etc.), so this is left as not available.
Governance — Changes in the Largest Shareholder's Stake
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2026-02-20 | Collateral enforcement (forced sale), stake 53.83%→53.28% |
| 2026-04-10 | Collateral enforcement (forced sale), stake 53.28%→46.00% |
| 2026-06-02 / 07-21 | Further stake reduction following agreement on early redemption request for convertible bonds |
| 2026-07-22 | Extraordinary general meeting; CEO changed from Yoo Yeong-hak to Hong Tak-wan |
| 2026-08-05 | KOSDAQ Market Division notice of additional risk of administrative-issue designation for 'share price below KRW 1,000' |
| 2026-08-12 | New administrative-issue designation (price shortfall) · Advance notice of designation as unfaithful disclosure entity received |
In connection with the 2026-07-22 extraordinary general meeting, a coalition of minority shareholders raised allegations of fund misappropriation regarding the process of the Toomics stake acquisition, the Future Hi-Tech divestiture, the convertible bond issuance, and the largest shareholder's pledging of shares as collateral, and filed a petition with the Financial Supervisory Service (Infostock Daily, 2026-07-24).
Risk Factors (Factual Summary)
- Administrative-issue designation: Newly designated as an administrative issue on 2026-08-12 on KOSDAQ 'price shortfall' grounds (closing price below KRW 1,000 for 30 consecutive trading days), overlapping with the pre-existing market-cap shortfall designation.
- Share pledge risk: Most of the shares held by largest shareholder Toomics Holdings are pledged as collateral, and at least two forced sales (collateral enforcement) occurred during 2026.
- Unfaithful disclosure: Following the reversal of the 2026-01-14 rights-offering decision, which was withdrawn on 2026-07-13, an advance notice of designation as an unfaithful disclosure entity was received on 2026-08-12 (determination due by 2026-09-07).
- Change in consolidation scope: The company fully divested its stake in semiconductor inspection equipment subsidiary Future Hi-Tech during 2025 (57.21% → 0%), removing it from the scope of consolidation.
- Supply-demand data gap: For the 2026-07-17 to 2026-08-14 period, net buying by investor type (retail, foreign, institutional), short-selling ratio/balance, trends in foreign ownership, and margin balances are all not available, due to a failed research script execution and inaccessible alternative web sources.
Peer Comparison (Webtoon/Content Value Chain)
Daewon Media (KRW 266.2bn) has the largest revenue scale, but a substantial share of its business is outside webtoons, including animation and character licensing. Soosung Webtoon (KRW 92.77bn) is similar in scale to Mr. Blue (KRW 80.7bn), and while D&C Media, Mr. Blue, and Daewon Media are all Kakao-platform affiliates with a high share of domestic/Asian distribution, Soosung Webtoon (Toomics) has a structurally different business, with overseas revenue accounting for more than 80% of total sales.
Valuation (Factual Multiples)
Macro Environment
| Indicator | Value as of Reference Date | Transmission Channel |
|---|---|---|
| KRW/USD Exchange Rate | KRW 1,417.53 (2026-08-13) | Tends to reduce KRW-translated value of overseas (Toomics) revenue (weak effect) |
| KOSDAQ Composite Index | 864.65 (2026-08-14, +0.38%) | Rise led by retail net buying; reference indicator for KOSDAQ small-cap supply-demand environment |
| US 10-Year Treasury Yield | 4.68–4.70% (2026-08-14) | Discount-rate burden factor for growth-stock valuations (reference) |
| SOX Index | 12,098.47 (2026-08-11) | Semiconductor equipment subsidiary Future Hi-Tech was divested in 2025, so current direct relevance is low |
Supply and Demand
Net buying data by investor type (retail, foreign, institutional) for the 2026-07-17 to 2026-08-14 period is not available for any item, due to a failed research script (pykrx) execution and inaccessible alternative web sources. Short-selling ratio/balance, trends in foreign ownership, and margin balances are likewise not available.