The South Korea Financial Supervisory Service published its August 2025 statistics on corporate financing, showing total debt and equity issuance of KRW 19.5158 trillion, down 30.9% month on month. Issuance of commercial paper and short-term bonds totalled KRW 133.9838 trillion, down 3.5% from July. Equity issuance fell 81.6% to KRW 886.2 billion, with eight IPOs raising KRW 296.8 billion (down 52.9%) and no large-scale IPOs; most listings were by small and medium-sized companies on the KOSDAQ market. Rights offerings dropped 85.9% to KRW 589.4 billion, following July’s large offerings by Hanwha Aerospace (KRW 2.9 trillion) and POSCO Future M (KRW 1.1 trillion). Debt issuance declined 20.5% to KRW 18.6296 trillion, driven by a 71.1% fall in corporate bond issuance to KRW 862.0 billion and a 12.5% reduction in financial debentures to KRW 16.9409 trillion; asset-backed securities issuance decreased 24.5% to KRW 826.7 billion. The outstanding balance of debt rose to KRW 728.2761 trillion at end-August. Commercial paper issuance decreased 17.9% to KRW 38.1824 trillion, while short-term bond issuance increased 3.7% to KRW 95.8014 trillion. Outstanding balances at end-August were KRW 226.2411 trillion for CPs and KRW 76.2368 trillion for short-term bonds, up 1.3% and 1.4% from the prior month.
South Korea Financial Supervisory Service 2025-09-22
South Korea Financial Supervisory Service reports August corporate debt and equity issuance fell 30.9% to KRW 19.5158 trillion
The South Korea Financial Supervisory Service reported a 30.9% month-on-month decline in total debt and equity issuance to KRW 19.5158 trillion for August 2025. Equity issuance fell 81.6% to KRW 886.2 billion, with a significant drop in IPOs and rights offerings. Debt issuance decreased 20.5% to KRW 18.6296 trillion, with notable declines in corporate bonds and financial debentures.