The Zombie Pattern: How Distressed Companies Drain Before They Fall
Korea declared war on its corporate zombies. In February 2026, the Financial Services Commission and Korea Exchange jointly announced a "concentrated delisting management period" — running through June 2027 — with a dedicated task force of 20 regulators assigned to accelerate the removal of distressed firms. KRX's own simulation estimates that up to 220 KOSDAQ-listed companies could face delisting proceedings this year alone. Improvement windows have been cut from 18 months to 12. New triggers now include persistent penny-stock status and semi-annual checks for full capital impairment. It is the most aggressive market clean-up in KOSDAQ's modern history. Meanwhile, across the world, the UK's Resolution Foundation issued its own warning at the start of 2026: thousands of zombie businesses — kept artificially alive through years of low interest rates and pandemic-era support — are now buckling under what the Foundation called a "triple whammy" of high b...