K3I's Buyer Has ₩5.8 Billion in Assets. It's Paying ₩21 Billion for Control.
J's Commerce, formed in 2018, is buying a 39.96% stake in K3I from the founder's family for ₩21 billion. Its own filed balance sheet shows ₩5.836 billion in total assets — far below the purchase price.
AI-assisted, human-reviewed sourcing. Figures are pulled programmatically from the official sources listed at the end of this article and checked by an editor before publication.
dartkoreadisclosurecontrol-changek3iacquisition
K3I (KRX: 431190) filed a change-of-control disclosure on 23 September, 2026. The buyer named in the filing, J’s Commerce Co., Ltd., is required by the same disclosure rules to report its own balance sheet as part of the filing — and that balance sheet shows total assets of ₩5,836 million, well below the ₩21 billion purchase price it has agreed to pay.
The filing, as stated
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Shares transferred | 2,916,667 (39.96% of K3I’s 7,486,442 shares outstanding) |
| Price per share | ₩7,200 |
| Total transaction value | ₩21,000,000,000 |
| Seller (pre-change largest shareholder) | Lee Jae-young, 37.40% pre-transfer |
| Buyer (prospective largest shareholder) | J’s Commerce Co., Ltd., to hold 27.83% |
| Co-buyer | Galaxy No.1 Investment Association, to hold 11.13% |
| Deposit (10%) | ₩2.1 billion, paid 23 Sep 2026 |
| Balance (90%) | ₩18.9 billion, due 26 Nov 2026 |
What the buyer’s own numbers say
The filing includes a required section on the prospective largest shareholder’s finances, and this is where the gap shows up. J’s Commerce, founded in May 2018, reports for fiscal 2025: ₩5,836 million in total assets, ₩4,275 million in liabilities, ₩1,561 million in equity, and ₩6,869 million in revenue. Against those figures, the ₩21 billion agreed purchase price — and specifically the ₩18.9 billion balance due by late November — is several times the buyer’s own reported asset base. The filing does not state how that balance will be funded.
What a filing like this does and doesn’t tell you
The disclosure confirms the transaction’s terms, the parties, and the buyer’s own recent financial statements, all as self-reported to the regulator. It does not confirm whether external financing has been arranged for the balance payment, nor whether the deal closes on schedule — the filing itself notes that terms “may change” based on how the parties’ discussions and related procedures proceed, with any material change to be separately disclosed.
This is not investment advice. Figures are drawn from official regulatory filings and are presented for data-quality reporting, not as a trading signal.
Data & Verification Notes
- Data as of
- Sources
- Financial Services Commission (Republic of Korea) / DART — Filing for change in largest shareholder involving a stock transfer agreement (최대주주 변경을 수반하는 주식양수도 계약 체결), rcept_no 20260923900518, filed 23 September 2026
- Cross-checks
- Total shares transferred, per the filing: 2,916,667 shares at ₩7,200/share, totaling ₩21,000,000,000. 2,916,667 x 7,200 = ₩21,000,002,400, matching the stated total to within rounding of the per-share price.
- Sellers, per the filing: Lee Jae-young (2,800,027 shares, 37.40%, the pre-change largest shareholder) and three named relatives/affiliates holding a combined 1.56%.
- Buyers, per the filing: J's Commerce Co., Ltd. (2,083,334 shares, to hold 27.83% post-transfer) and Galaxy No.1 Investment Association (833,333 shares, to hold 11.13% post-transfer).
- J's Commerce's own stated financial section (part of this same filing, 'Matters concerning the prospective largest shareholder'): total assets ₩5,836 million, total liabilities ₩4,275 million, total equity ₩1,561 million, revenue ₩6,869 million, net income ₩184 million, for fiscal year 2025. J's Commerce's stated founding date: May 2018.
- Payment schedule, per the filing: 10% (₩2.1 billion) as a deposit paid on the contract date itself, 23 September 2026; the remaining 90% (₩18.9 billion) due by 26 November 2026, the same date stated as the expected change-of-control date.
- Excluded figures
- How J's Commerce intends to fund the ₩18.9 billion balance due — the filing states the payment schedule but not a funding source.
- J's Commerce's own ownership structure beyond its largest shareholder (Kim Jin-ho, 40%, also its CEO per the filing) — no further detail on the company's other shareholders is in the filing.
- What business change, if any, K3I's board intends under new ownership — the filing states only that an amendment to the articles of incorporation to add business purposes is planned, without specifics.
- Instruments
- 431190
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