Korea's bourse operator allows Sillajen to resume stock trading

Korea's bourse operator on Wednesday decided to allow scandal-ridden bio firm Sillajen to resume its stock trading after more than two years of suspension.

Trading of shares in Sillajen will resume on the tech-laden Kosdaq on Thursday, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said, after a review of the biotechnology company's plan to improve its business.

The stock has been suspended since May 2020, after its former executives were charged with embezzlement and breach of trust.

In November 2020, the KRX gave Sillajen a one-year grace period to meet listing requirements. In January this year, however, the bourse operator said the bio firm still did not meet the requirements.

Upon Sillajen's appeal, the KRX granted the firm an additional six-month grace period.

The Sillajen fiasco has drawn an outcry from some 170,000 retail investors.

After its market debut on Dec. 6, 2016, shares in Sillajen rallied to over 150,000 won ($105) in late 2017.

Sillajen tumbled to the 12,000 won level ahead of the trading ban, lower than its IPO price of 15,000 won, and its market capitalization stood at some 1.25 trillion won.

Yonhap