It is reported that SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won purchased only 3,620 shares (approximately 4.9 billion won) of SK Hynix stock due to regulations requiring pre-disclosure of insider trading.
In fact, SK Hynix announced via a public disclosure on the 30th that Choi (Chairman) acquired 3,620 ordinary shares through an on-market purchase. The acquisition price was 1.353677 million won per share, with a total purchase amount of approximately 4.9 billion won.
Industry observers interpret this on-market purchase as a responsible management move based on confidence in the growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor market and trust in the company's medium- to long-term growth prospects. However, some are noting that the purchase size is not large.
But this is due to current disclosure regulations. Under the existing pre-disclosure system for insider trading, executives or major shareholders of listed companies must disclose their trading plans up to 30 days before the start of trading if the combined volume of transactions over the past six months and planned future trades exceeds 1% of total issued shares or involves a transaction amount of 5 billion won or more. Conversely, if the transaction size is less than 1% of total issued shares and the transaction amount is under 5 billion won, pre-disclosure obligations are exempted.
The rule to aggregate transactions over the past six months aims to prevent so-called "split trading," where individuals evade disclosure obligations by dividing trades into multiple smaller transactions.
As a result, the amount Choi (Chairman) can additionally purchase within the next six months without pre-disclosure is limited to just under 5 billion won after excluding this recent purchase. To make additional purchases beyond this amount, the cumulative transaction value must reach 5 billion won or more, requiring prior disclosure of trading plans, and actual purchases can only be made at least 30 days after the disclosure date.
Ultimately, it is interpreted that this transaction size was aligned with the maximum level executable without separate disclosure under the current pre-disclosure system.
This marks the first time Choi (Chairman) has directly purchased SK Hynix shares. It is reported that the decision to buy was made after determining that SK Hynix's stock price had been excessively undervalued. An industry official stated, "It appears to reflect a strong intention to convey a message to the market by executing the purchase swiftly without additional procedures."
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