YASE Founder's Shareholding Halves From 42.6% to 18.1% Following Margin Call in July Market Rout

According to filings disclosed on August 4 with South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, YASE's largest shareholder and director Jung Gwang-ho saw his shareholding slashed from 42.58% to 18.07% following forced liquidation triggered by the late-July market crash. Jung held 5.56 million shares before the event; his stake is now 2.36 million shares.

The liquidation resulted from a margin call mechanism: when a large shareholder pledges stock as collateral for loans from financial institutions, lenders impose mandatory maintenance ratios on the pledged securities. As the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell over 10% and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSDAQ) dropped 15.7% within three trading days starting July 28, Jung's collateral value fell below the required threshold, triggering forced sales. Between July 28 and August 3, a total of 2.88 million shares were liquidated across five trading sessions.