Fact Summary
Seohee Construction closed at KRW 2,155 on 2026-08-18 (+2.86% from the previous day, volume 417,401 shares). Per its H1 2026 semiannual report (cumulative, filing no. 20260814002224), the company reported revenue of KRW 392.2 billion, operating profit of KRW 46.9 billion, and net income of KRW 169.5 billion; per its 2025 annual business report (filing no. 20260324000013), revenue decreased 25.3% year over year. On 2026-04-30, the Korea Exchange's Corporate Examination Committee resolved to "maintain listing" following a substantive listing-eligibility review, and trading resumed on 2026-05-04 after approximately nine months.
Change Context Note
In trading on 2026-08-18, foreign investors recorded net buying of +80,303 shares, the largest among the past five trading days, while retail investors were net sellers of -47,042 shares; the short-selling transaction ratio rose to 8.89% from 0% over the preceding three trading days. Over the same period, the Bank of Korea's base rate stood at 2.75% following a 2026-07-16 hike, and on 2026-04-20 the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced a regulatory revision easing the land-securement requirement for regional housing association project approval from 95% to 80%.
Business Overview
The company's core business is contracted construction for regional housing associations; in its civil engineering and plant segment, it concurrently handles large-scale projects such as the Sinansan Line double-track railway and maintenance work at POSCO's Pohang and Gwangyang steelworks (web research summary, base date unknown, C). The exact revenue split by segment requires cross-checking against original disclosures and is not available.
5-Year Financial Trend
| Period | Revenue | Operating Profit | Net Income | Debt-to-Equity Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | KRW 1.33 trillion | KRW 206.8 billion | KRW 137.3 billion | 128.0% |
| 2022 | KRW 1.4377 trillion | KRW 206.1 billion | KRW 100.1 billion | 113.8% |
| 2023 | KRW 1.4419 trillion | KRW 228.2 billion | KRW 126.7 billion | 82.4% |
| 2024 | KRW 1.4736 trillion | KRW 235.7 billion | KRW 159.3 billion | 58.2% |
| 2025 | KRW 1.1001 trillion | KRW 144.4 billion | KRW 120.6 billion | 49.6% |
| H1 2026 (cumulative) | KRW 392.2 billion | KRW 46.9 billion | KRW 169.5 billion | 47.3% |
Per the 2025 annual business report, revenue, operating profit, and net income all declined year over year (revenue -25.3%, operating profit -38.8%, net income -24.3%; filing no. 20260324000013). The H1 2026 (cumulative) net margin of 43.22% is unusually high relative to the operating margin of 11.95%; the background is discussed in the Market-Linked Theme and Risk Factors sections below.
Valuation (Factual Multiples)
The PER above is based on actual 2025 annual net income as the denominator; given the unusual situation where cumulative H1 2026 net income already exceeds full-year 2025 net income, a trailing-twelve-month multiple would require separate calculation and is not available. EV/EBITDA could not be calculated due to unavailable net debt and depreciation/amortization detail. Same-base-date PER/PBR comparison figures for peer companies are also not available.
Peer Comparison
| Company | 2025 Construction Capability Evaluation Rank | Evaluated Value |
|---|---|---|
| Seohee Construction | Rank 16 (up for 7 consecutive years) | KRW 2.8773 trillion |
| Daebang Construction | Rank 23 | KRW 2.3058 trillion |
| Woomi Construction | Rank 21 | KRW 2.2482 trillion |
Governance and Capital Structure
The combined stake of the largest shareholder and related parties consists of the direct holdings of founder Lee Bong-gwan and his three children (6.61% combined), plus the holdings of unlisted limited liability companies controlled by the Lee family (Apple DI, Apple ENC, ENB Housing, Hanil Asset Management & Investment) and listed affiliate Yousung T&S (29.05%). Yousung T&S's largest shareholder is Hanil Asset Management & Investment LLC (31.89%), and Seohee Construction itself holds a 1.98% non-voting stake in Yousung T&S, indicating a structure resembling circular/cross-shareholding (DART semiannual report, as of 2026-06-30).
| Date | Equity-Related Disclosure |
|---|---|
| 2025-09-26 | Termination of share-pledge loan agreement by Hanil Asset Management & Investment LLC |
| 2025-10-02 | Termination of share-pledge loan agreement by Apple DI LLC (pledged shares reduced to 0) |
Macro Environment
On 2026-04-20, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced a regulatory revision easing the land-securement requirement for regional housing association project-plan approval from 95% to 80%, and introducing a registration system for business-agency operators and a construction-cost verification system (The Kyunghyang Shinmun, Korea Policy Briefing, 2026-04-20). Multiple reports confirm that a substantial portion of Seohee Construction's revenue derives from regional housing association projects, closely linking the base rate, unsold-unit levels, and this regulatory revision to its performance.
Supply and Demand Trends
In trading on 2026-08-18, foreign investors posted net buying of +80,303 shares, the largest over the past five trading days, while retail investors were net sellers on 4 of the past 5 trading days, resulting in a cumulative net-selling excess of -869,548 shares over the past month (alphasquare secondary data; not cross-checked against primary KRX data). The foreign ownership ratio stands at a low 3.95% (per alphasquare, as of 2026-08-19).
Recent Timeline
| Date | Fact |
|---|---|
| 2026-04-20 | MOLIT announces regulatory revision for regional housing associations (land-securement requirement eased from 95% to 80%) |
| 2026-04-30 | Korea Exchange Corporate Examination Committee resolves to "maintain listing" following substantive listing-eligibility review |
| 2026-05-04 | Trading halt lifted; trading resumes after approximately nine months |
| 2026-05-22 | Joint and several guarantee of KRW 108.0 billion executed for interim-payment securitization loan for Namyangju Onam-eup Yangji District 7, Block 1 regional housing association |
| 2026-05-28 | Q1 2026 earnings reported: revenue KRW 191.7 billion (-33.2%), operating profit KRW 10.5 billion (-79.4%), net income KRW 19.4 billion (+16.9%) |
| 2026-06-22 | Korea Ratings (KIS) publishes Credit Opinion |
| 2026-06-26 | Chairman Lee Bong-gwan sentenced in first trial to 1 year imprisonment, 2 years suspended, on bribery-brokering charges |
| 2026-07-07 | First-trial sentence finalized without appeal; chairman and in-house director positions retained |
| 2026-08-14 | H1 2026 semiannual report filed (filing no. 20260814002224) |
Risk Factors (Fact-Based)
Chairman Lee Bong-gwan was sentenced in the first trial on 2026-06-26 to 1 year imprisonment, 2 years suspended, on bribery-brokering charges; the sentence was finalized without appeal on 2026-07-07 (chairman position retained).
In a lawsuit over a penalty (KRW 5.378 billion) related to termination of a construction contract with the Gumi Jungang Sup regional housing association, the company lost in the first trial (ruling estimated 2026-04-17; reported 2026-05-13).
60-80% of revenue is concentrated in regional housing association projects, resulting in high exposure to policy and economic cycle fluctuations.
Operating cash flow was -KRW 39.2 billion in Q1 2026, marking outflows for two consecutive years (FETV, 2026-05-28).
The H1 2026 net margin of 43.22% is high relative to the operating margin of 11.95%, reflecting significant reliance on valuation gains on financial assets (e.g., Nvidia, Tesla).
As of 2022, the company's guarantees provided on behalf of third parties (including debt guarantees for regional housing associations) reportedly reached KRW 3.2309 trillion, having increased for six consecutive years (NewDaily, 2023-04-18), but the current 2026 figure is not available. Regarding the collapse at Section 5-2 of the Sinansan Line double-track railway, reports indicate MOLIT's investigation committee determined it was a man-made disaster resulting from a combination of design, construction, and supervision factors, but the incident date and the scope of Seohee Construction's responsibility are not available.
Theme Relevance
Fact Highlights
This is not investment advice. FomoLog provides factual summaries and post-hoc price-change context only. Investment decisions and their outcomes are solely the responsibility of the investor.
Generated by FomoLog Agent · Data sources: Korea Exchange · DART