The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of the top decision-making Financial Services Commission (FSC) urged the Korea Exchange to make haste in its deliberation on whether the authority’s finding of accounting malpractice by Samsung BioLogics is serious enough to remove the stock from the main bourse, according to its vice chair.

“The SFC has advised the stock authority not to take a long time in its deliberation, given the negative impact on the bourse from the suspension of a heavyweight stock,” Kim Yong-beom, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and chief of its top decision-making body SFC, said during parliamentary questioning.

The stock exchange has been reviewing Samsung BioLogics case after the stock was immediately suspended from Wednesday last week following the review results from SFC that identified deliberateness in inflation of corporate value before it went public in 2016.

The suspension of the Kospi’s sixth biggest market-cap stock has unsettled 80,000-odd retail shareholders. Market capitalization of Samsung BioLogics is 22.1 trillion won ($19.6 billion), where foreign investors make up 9.02 percent.

The financial authority has tried to calm investors, saying no companies have been expelled from the stock exchange due to accounting irregularities.

Samsung BioLogics also retain robust capital base even after reflecting the 4.5 trillion won it has been accused of inflating, which should be another relief to investors, Kim said.

Kim struck out the possibility in the spread of investigation onto other Samsung units as demanded by progressive civilian groups.

By Lee Seung-yoon and Choi Mira

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]