A bizarre situation has emerged as Hye-in, a listed company on the KOSDAQ, has been linked to Yong Hye-in, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, simply due to their name similarity. Following the nomination of Yong, Hye-in's stock price plummeted, leading to claims in online forums that it was a related stock, despite a lack of direct business or ownership ties between the company and the nominee.
According to the Korea Exchange on September 3, Hye-in's stock closed at 9,770 won, up 250 won (2.63%) from the previous trading day. The stock opened at 9,730 won, initially dropping to 8,760 won before rising to 10,710 won in the afternoon, showing significant volatility.
The timing of Hye-in's stock decline coincided with Yong's nomination, prompting the label 'Yong Hye-in theme stock.' From August 31 to September 2, the stock fell by 2.29%, 13.08%, and 11.61%, respectively. This led to a flurry of posts in online forums categorizing Hye-in as a stock related to the nominee. However, aside from their names, there are no clear connections between the two.
Hye-in was established in 1960 as Hye-in Trading Company, using the name long before Yong, born in 1990, came into existence.
Recent stock trends appear to be influenced more by the company's existing business and market expectations rather than any connection to the nominee. Hye-in's stock was trading in the low 4,000 won range until late July but saw a sharp increase in August. The rise is attributed to expectations of increased demand for emergency generators due to the expansion of AI data centers.
Hye-in serves as the official dealer for global construction and mining equipment company Caterpillar in South Korea, selling engines and generators. The company has supplied Caterpillar emergency generators to data centers for major firms like Samsung Electronics, SK, Naver, and Kakao, garnering interest as a stock related to AI data centers.
With the stock price nearly tripling in a short period, volatility has significantly increased. Hye-in's stock rose by 19.39% on August 11, followed by a 29.89% increase on August 14, reaching the price limit. It also rose by 14.34% on August 18. However, it dropped by 12.72% on August 21, only to rebound with increases of 14.36% on August 24 and 12.66% on August 26, demonstrating erratic fluctuations.
Market alert measures have been implemented, with Hye-in designated as a short-term overheated stock last month, subject to single-price trading every 30 minutes for three trading days. On August 18, it was also classified as a stock under investment warning.
Hye-in has stated that it has no specific disclosures related to the recent surge in stock price. When the exchange requested clarification regarding 'significant market fluctuations' on August 11, Hye-in responded that there were no important disclosure matters currently in progress or confirmed under disclosure regulations.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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