The Same 629,096 Shares Are 3.37% and 3.61%: What a Korean Filing’s Denominator Changes
A Korean disclosure filing almost never states a share count on its own. It states a count and, beside it, a percentage. The count is a fact the filer counted. The percentage is a division, and the filer chose what to divide by. When two filings from the same company on the same day put different percentages beside the same number of shares, neither one is wrong — they picked different denominators, and both said so in the fine print.
This piece works through two cases from recent filings. In the first, the denominator changes and the numerator does not. In the second, the numerator changes, the denominator changes with it, and a third figure that most readers care about does not move at all.
Case 1 — 629,096 shares, filed twice, at 3.37% and 3.61%
On 7 September 2026 SK Discovery (006120) filed two documents about the termination of a treasury share trust contract: a material-fact report on the termination decision, and a report on the result of that termination. Both state the same treasury holding of 629,096 common shares. The decision filing puts 3.37% beside it. The result filing puts 3.61%.
| Item | Termination decision | Termination result |
|---|---|---|
| Receipt number | 20260907000315 | 20260907000322 |
| Treasury shares (common) | 629,096 | 629,096 |
| Percentage stated | 3.37% | 3.61% |
| Denominator named in the filing | Total shares issued | Total shares issued, by share class |
| Trust contract amount | KRW 20,000,000,000 | KRW 20,000,000,000 |
Source: DART electronic disclosure system · receipt numbers 20260907000315, 20260907000322
Each filing names its own denominator. The decision filing writes in its notes that the percentage is based on the company’s total shares issued as of 7 September 2026, and prints that figure — 18,645,456 shares — in parentheses. The result filing says its percentage is against total shares issued for the relevant share class as of the reporting date.
The split is preferred stock
The half-year report’s table of total shares shows both denominators. Common shares issued stood at 17,413,751 and preferred at 1,231,705. The two add to 18,645,456, which matches the figure the decision filing printed.
| Division | Result |
|---|---|
| 629,096 ÷ 18,645,456 (common + preferred) | 3.37% |
| 629,096 ÷ 17,413,751 (common only) | 3.61% |
| Difference | 0.24 percentage points |
Source: DART electronic disclosure system, 2026 half-year report, status of total shares · receipt number 20260813001756 · as of 30 June 2026
The numerator is identical in both rows. The class-based denominator is smaller by exactly the 1,231,705 preferred shares, so the same holding prints as a larger share of the company. A reader who compares the 3.61% of one filing against a 3.37% figure from another company is not comparing like with like unless both denominators are checked first.
Case 2 — 1,991,782 shares cancelled, floating shares unchanged
On 3 September 2026 two companies filed share cancellation decisions on the same form. Gaeasoft (051160) resolved to cancel 1,991,782 common shares; Day1 Company (373160) resolved to cancel 224,999. Both filings state the acquisition method as treasury shares already held, which is why the acquisition period fields are blank — nothing was purchased for the cancellation.
Cancelling shares already sitting in treasury subtracts the same amount from two lines at once. Total shares issued falls. Treasury shares fall by the identical figure. Floating shares are the difference between those two lines, so the difference does not move.
| Line | Gaeasoft | Day1 Company |
|---|---|---|
| Total shares issued, before | 15,474,430 | 13,807,469 |
| Treasury shares, before | 2,939,282 | 449,998 |
| Floating shares, before | 12,535,148 | 13,357,471 |
| Cancelled | 1,991,782 | 224,999 |
| Total shares issued, after | 13,482,648 | 13,582,470 |
| Treasury shares, after | 947,500 | 224,999 |
| Floating shares, after | 12,535,148 | 13,357,471 |
Treasury balances as of the 24 August 2026 acquisition result report (Gaeasoft) and the 3 September 2026 trust termination result report (Day1 Company). Floating shares are total shares issued less treasury shares. Source: DART electronic disclosure system · receipt numbers 20260903900070, 20260903900124
Gaeasoft’s own filing prints the post-cancellation figure of 13,482,648 in its notes. Day1 Company did not print a post-cancellation figure, so 13,582,470 is the subtraction carried out here from the two numbers the filing does state.
The consequence for ratios is the part worth holding on to. Any per-share figure divided by total shares issued changes after a cancellation like this. Any figure divided by floating shares does not. The cancellation itself did not hand a single share to anyone outside the company.
Where to check the denominator
Korean filings carry their denominator in three places, and reading them takes less time than recomputing a ratio. The notes field of a material-fact report often prints the denominator in parentheses next to the percentage, as SK Discovery’s did. The line under a table states whether a class-based figure was used. And the table of total shares in the most recent quarterly or half-year report gives common and preferred separately, which is the split that produced the 0.24 percentage point gap above.
When a filing states a percentage without naming its base, the receipt number is enough to open the original on DART and read the surrounding fields. Where a correction filing is issued later, it carries its own receipt number and the same fields can be read again there.
Company pages for the three companies above: SK Discovery · Gaeasoft · Day1 Company. Related reading: How to Read Financial Statements.
This article describes figures stated in public disclosure filings and the arithmetic between them. It does not constitute investment advice.
