South Korea Financial Supervisory Service reports April corporate debt and equity issuance rose 13.2% to KRW22.6 trillion while CP and short-term bonds increased 13.0%

The South Korea Financial Supervisory Service published April 2026 data showing that corporate financing through debt and equity issuance rose to KRW22.6157 trillion, up KRW2.6325 trillion or 13.2% from March. The increase was driven by debt issuance, which rose 13.6% to KRW22.2021 trillion, while equity issuance fell 6.0% to KRW413.6 billion. Separately, issuance of commercial paper and short-term bonds reached KRW226.6038 trillion, up KRW26.1300 trillion or 13.0% month on month. Within equity markets, four initial public offerings raised KRW157.7 billion, down 25.0% from March, while four public equity offerings raised KRW255.9 billion, up 11.4%. Within debt markets, corporate bond issuance fell 12.7% to KRW4.1740 trillion and 78.6% of proceeds were used to repay existing debt, while financial debentures rose to KRW16.6743 trillion, led by an 88.4% increase in bank debentures, and asset-backed securities issuance increased 2.6% to KRW1.3538 trillion. At end-April, the outstanding balance of debt stood at KRW745.2807 trillion, down from a month earlier. Commercial paper issuance rose 20.5% to KRW56.3404 trillion, with PFABCPs and other asset-backed CPs posting the largest gains, and short-term bond issuance increased 10.8% to KRW170.2634 trillion as companies’ issuance rose 18.5% even though PFAB and other asset-backed short-term bonds declined. Outstanding balances reached KRW246.8876 trillion for CPs and KRW93.2953 trillion for short-term bonds.