Korea targets English disclosures across KOSPI by 2028 as companies face translation strain

English reporting expands to 265 companies in 2026

South Korea plans to require English disclosures from all companies listed on the KOSPI by 2028, with a major expansion beginning on May 1, 2026. Companies with assets of at least 2 trillion won will come under the requirement on that date, bringing the number of affected issuers to roughly 265. The required English disclosure list will also expand from 26 items to all 55 items.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has presented the changes as part of a wider effort to attract overseas investment and address the Korea discount. That term describes the persistent gap between the valuations of Korean companies and those of comparable businesses abroad. Officials want foreign investors to have more readable, comparable information about corporate governance, transactions between connected businesses, and internal controls.

Companies face a demanding adjustment. Translating a disclosure means more than replacing Korean words with English ones. A financial statement, legal qualification or explanation of a corporate transaction must retain its meaning, arrive within the required deadline and remain consistent with the Korean version.

Large conglomerates often already have investor relations departments and language specialists. Many smaller companies lack those resources. Their concerns include translation bills, additional staffing, technical errors and the possibility of disputes if investors rely on English wording that differs from the original.

As of November 22, 2025, the regulator's plan combines a phased expansion with support measures, including a glossary, wider access to exchange translation services and improvements to the electronic disclosure system. The central challenge is to make English information more useful to investors while giving companies a workable way to produce it accurately.

What changes before the 2028 deadline

The current requirement covers the largest KOSPI issuers, those with assets of at least 10 trillion won, and a defined set of disclosure items. The next phase lowers that asset threshold to 2 trillion won and broadens the information companies must publish in English.

The expansion also reaches other Korea Exchange filing categories, including fair disclosures. Fair disclosure releases material information to the market, helping investors receive information that could affect their decisions. The objective is coverage of every KOSPI company by 2028. A similar requirement for large companies listed on Kosdaq is under review.

The announced timetable has several stages:

• Current requirement: KOSPI issuers with assets of at least 10 trillion won provide English versions of a defined set of disclosures.
• By the end of 2025: dedicated English disclosure infrastructure within the Financial Supervisory Service's DART system is planned for completion.
• May 1, 2026: the asset threshold falls to 2 trillion won, covering roughly 265 issuers, while required English items expand from 26 to 55.
• By 2028: the FSC aims to extend English disclosure requirements to all KOSPI companies.

The move from 26 to 55 items more than doubles the list companies must translate. The change therefore increases both the number of businesses covered and the range of information those businesses must make available. The Kosdaq extension remains under consideration, with no implementation date given.

Why language matters to market access

Korean authorities have already taken steps to make the market easier for international investors to enter. They removed the requirement for foreign investors to obtain separate registration before trading, made omnibus accounts easier to operate and simplified some reporting for transactions conducted outside exchanges. Some checks have also shifted to oversight after transactions take place.

An omnibus account holds positions for multiple investors under one umbrella. Making those accounts easier to use can reduce administrative work for international participants. Removing registration requirements similarly lowers an entry barrier. English disclosure addresses a different obstacle: understanding what a company is doing once an investor can buy its shares.

Many large Korean companies already publish some English materials, but gaps in coverage and delays have reduced their usefulness. A foreign investor may be able to trade easily yet still struggle to find a complete explanation of a transaction or a change in corporate policy.

The FSC wants to standardize what gets translated, when it appears and where investors can find it. Officials see that as a foundational part of modernizing market infrastructure and bringing transparency closer to international norms.

Korea's strong corporate earnings and major industries have not removed the information gap. Fuller English reporting is intended to help investors assess companies with greater confidence, supporting participation and fairer pricing. The value to readers comes from receiving a consistent stream of information, rather than occasional English presentations.

Smaller companies face a larger operational burden

Industry officials and corporate advisers expect translation costs and staffing demands to rise, sometimes sharply. Companies must arrange a process capable of handling sensitive technical information under tight deadlines. That can require hiring, training and closer management of outside translation providers.

Large groups may be able to build on existing investor relations teams and professional language support. Companies of medium size and smaller issuers often have less administrative capacity. Firms with thin margins may find it especially difficult to absorb recurring translation and review expenses.

Accounting and legal language create particular difficulties. A carefully translated sentence can still create confusion if it carries a different meaning under another accounting or legal convention. Companies therefore need finance specialists, investor relations staff and outside counsel to work together on wording that investors may use to make decisions.

Companies also worry about liability when the English version misleads investors even though the Korean version is accurate. The concern is not confined to obvious mistakes. A change in a qualification, a poorly chosen accounting term or inconsistent wording across documents can alter how a reader understands a disclosure.

The practical burden extends beyond the first translation. Businesses need procedures for checking changes, keeping versions synchronized and answering questions about the final wording. Those tasks become harder when several departments or outside vendors are working on the same filing.

Japan shows why timing and review matter

A 2024 survey of Japanese companies found that a large majority considered English disclosures burdensome. Japan's exchanges have pressed for more English reporting by major issuers starting in 2025, providing a nearby example of the workload Korean companies expect to face.

Requirements affecting Japan's prime market companies illustrate two practical issues. Translators need to understand accounting policies, the conventions used in financial footnotes and regulatory wording. Publication timing matters as well: an English document that arrives late or differs from the Japanese version can leave investors uncertain about which wording to trust.

Japanese companies have responded by developing internal style guides, building translation memories and using professional review services. A translation memory stores previously approved passages so that recurring language can be reused consistently. Review services can also check accounting explanations and help make them understandable in English.

Professional service providers in Japan are developing quality control services that go beyond literal translation. Their work combines language review with accounting knowledge and experience of corporate disclosure. That combination reflects the needs of investors who rely on English documents to judge a company's financial position.

Other markets are expanding demanding disclosure requirements too. In the United States, updates to the Hart Scott Rodino rules for notifying authorities about proposed mergers require English translations of materials submitted in foreign languages. In India, Securities and Exchange Board rules on disclosure of shareholder agreements illustrate how broader transparency requirements can bring substantial workloads and legal complexity.

Korea's plan belongs to that wider trend: regulators want more information and greater detail, while companies must control the expense of producing it. Japan's experience gives Korean issuers practical examples of how to organize the language and review work.

Digital reporting has quality problems to resolve

Korea uses XBRL, an international standard that turns financial statements and related information into structured data computers can read. Instead of treating every number as text on a page, the format labels data so investors can analyze it and compare similar figures across companies.

XBRL should make financial analysis faster, but Korea's reporting tools have drawn criticism. Korea is the only country that requires companies to use an editor developed by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The editor has international certification, yet users and auditors have identified flaws, including Korean text appearing in sections intended to be in English.

During a National Assembly audit, lawmakers were told that nearly 47 percent of XBRL filings contained some type of error. That figure makes quality control a practical concern as English disclosure requirements spread to more companies.

An airline official facing the 2028 requirement said XBRL had been introduced but remained of limited practical use, and that better integration with English reporting processes was essential. Companies need the data labels, financial figures and translated explanations to stay consistent across versions.

Recurring information offers an opportunity to reduce work. If a company reuses approved wording and labels the same financial items consistently each quarter, it can produce disclosures more quickly while maintaining accuracy. A stable taxonomy, meaning the agreed system of categories and labels, also helps investors compare companies and industries.

Governance and transactions between related parties require particular care. Related parties are people or businesses connected to the company. Changes in wording can make it harder to track those relationships and transactions over time, even when the underlying information is similar.

DART upgrades aim to make filings easier to find

The FSC plans a dedicated English disclosure environment within DART, the FSS electronic reporting system, with completion targeted for the end of 2025. Searchability and consistency are central aims. Investors should be able to locate documents, identify the latest version and read them in a clearer layout.

The planned improvements include expanded automated machine translation, English search functions for Korean filings and a standard English disclosure glossary. The regulator also intends to improve the interface used by global investors and introduce better digital tools.

The Korea Exchange's translation service is to be streamlined and made available to more companies. Wider eligibility could help issuers that lack their own language specialists, while a shared glossary could reduce uncertainty over recurring accounting, legal and business terms.

Approved phrases stored in a central memory could reduce repetitive work. Consistent wording across updates, together with stable data labels, would make it easier for investors to follow a company over several reporting periods. Better systems could also reduce formatting problems that delay publication.

Automated tools still need human review. Accounting footnotes, legal qualifications and terms whose meaning depends on context can be difficult for a machine to translate accurately. The intended benefit is faster preparation and retrieval, supported by people who can check the passages carrying the greatest financial or legal risk.

Keeping Korean and English versions consistent

Companies face two connected legal questions: which language version governs when the texts differ, and how to organize work so differences are less likely to occur. Korean law does not excuse misleading statements simply because they arose during translation.

A statement identifying the controlling language can help, but companies still have a duty to publish accurate information that does not mislead. They need controls that keep both texts synchronized and records showing how potentially ambiguous wording was checked.

Audit committees and boards have a role in overseeing that process. Companies can document approval thresholds for highly material information, identify who handles uncertainty in the Korean source and record which passages were translated by machines and which by people.

A clear route for raising problems matters when a translator encounters wording that could support more than one interpretation. Resolving the Korean text before publication can help the English reviewer preserve the intended meaning. Keeping a record of decisions can also help a company explain its approach if a dispute arises.

Governance procedures cannot remove every risk, but they can demonstrate diligence. The aim is an accountable process in which finance, legal and investor relations staff know who checks the content, who approves changes and who authorizes release.

How companies can prepare before the deadline

Companies can make the transition more manageable by preparing their terminology, review procedures and outside support before the new requirements apply. The practical measures include:

• Build a central glossary and style guide for accounting, legal and industry terms, and update them after each filing cycle.
• Create a translation memory to reuse approved phrases and footnotes consistently.
• Use machine translation for suitable first drafts, followed by human review from people who understand the subject.
• Finalize the Korean source before translation starts and keep a record of later edits.
• Train finance, legal and investor relations teams to identify passages that may confuse readers unfamiliar with Korean business practices.
• Agree service standards and contacts for urgent problems with outside vendors, then rehearse at least one complete quarterly reporting cycle before the deadline.
• Align XBRL labels with English wording so the structured data and narrative remain consistent.

Early preparation can reduce pressure when deadlines arrive. It can also make investor questions easier to answer because internal teams know where the definitive wording is held and how it was approved.

Smaller issuers will need the most help. Wider subsidized translation support, libraries of templates for recurring forms and detailed examples of good English filings could shorten the learning process. Clarification about the treatment of inadvertent errors during an initial adjustment period would also help companies establish controls.

What foreign investors expect from the change

Foreign business chambers have welcomed Korea's direction, viewing it as a move toward international standards and fewer information gaps. Market participants expect benefits over time, although companies face a heavier workload during the transition.

English filings can make it easier for investors to examine governance structures, transactions between related parties and decisions about how corporate money is used. Investors who actively engage with companies can ask for explanations of complex transactions, board independence, cross shareholdings and internal controls. Cross shareholdings occur when companies hold shares in one another.

Those issues matter to valuation, particularly when a company's shares trade below its book value or at lower valuation multiples than its peers. Book value broadly reflects assets remaining after liabilities are deducted. Valuation multiples compare a share price or company value with a financial measure such as earnings.

Companies that communicate consistently in English tend to receive stronger engagement during conference calls, investor meetings held outside fundraising transactions and shareholder meetings. Trust develops when the English document appears on time, matches the Korean version and uses language that readers unfamiliar with Korea can understand.

Investors want completeness, with all material information carrying the same detail in both languages. They also want timely publication rather than an English version arriving days later, comparable wording across companies and reporting periods, and information that computers can process.

The FSC's support measures aim to improve accuracy and speed without making compliance unaffordable. A combination of automated preparation and skilled review offers a practical approach: machines can handle repetitive lines and formatting while people check sensitive explanations. Company investment remains necessary, particularly for disclosures capable of moving a share price.

What to Know

• Korea aims to require English disclosures from all KOSPI companies by 2028.
• From May 1, 2026, the requirement expands to companies with assets of at least 2 trillion won, covering roughly 265 issuers.
• Required English items increase from 26 to 55, with coverage extending to other exchange filing categories, including fair disclosures.
• The FSC plans a glossary, wider translation support and an English disclosure environment within DART by the end of 2025.
• A similar requirement for large Kosdaq companies remains under review.
• Companies face higher translation costs, staffing demands and risks when Korean and English wording diverge.
• Nearly 47 percent of XBRL filings contained some type of error, lawmakers were told during a National Assembly audit.
• Japan's experience points to the importance of specialist review, consistent terminology and timely publication.
• Foreign investors seek complete, comparable and timely English information, supported by reliable data that computers can read.