The South Korea Financial Supervisory Service published its January 2026 statistics on corporate debt and equity issuance, showing total financing of KRW17.7440 trillion, down 1.3% from December 2025. Issuance of commercial paper and short-term bonds totaled KRW154.7302 trillion, down 13.4% month on month. Equity issuance fell to KRW108.2 billion from KRW2.4880 trillion, with initial public offerings dropping to 2 deals (KRW79.5 billion in proceeds) from 18 and public equity offerings falling to 2 deals (KRW28.7 billion in proceeds) from 16. Debt issuance rose 13.9% to KRW17.6358 trillion, driven by corporate bond issuance rising to KRW7.1765 trillion from KRW230.0 billion, with 76.7% used to repay existing debt; AA-rated or higher bonds represented 93.6% and maturities of one to five years accounted for 98.5%. Financial debenture issuance declined 29.4% to KRW9.7141 trillion, while asset-backed securities issuance halved to KRW745.2 billion and there was no primary collateralized bond obligation issuance; the outstanding balance of debt fell to KRW752.8585 trillion. Commercial paper issuance increased 8.2% to KRW46.8926 trillion, while short-term bond issuance fell 20.4% to KRW107.8376 trillion. Outstanding balances at end-January 2026 rose to KRW240.1568 trillion for CPs and KRW85.9066 trillion for short-term bonds.
South Korea Financial Supervisory Service 2026-03-06
South Korea Financial Supervisory Service reports January 2026 corporate financing at KRW17.7440 trillion as equity issuance drops 95.7% and corporate bond issuance jumps
The South Korea Financial Supervisory Service reported a 1.3% decrease in total corporate debt and equity issuance to KRW17.7440 trillion in January 2026. Equity issuance significantly declined, while debt issuance rose 13.9%, primarily due to increased corporate bond issuance. Commercial paper issuance grew by 8.2%, whereas short-term bond issuance dropped by 20.4%.