KONA I CEO Jo expressed regret during an investor relations (IR) meeting held on the 30th regarding the company's recent perception as a corporation sensitive to political issues.
Jo said, "It is regrettable to be viewed as a corporation highly reliant on political issues," and emphasized, "The local currency project is being implemented by all local governments, regardless of political party." He explained that it is a misunderstanding to think that performance is determined by specific political parties or regimes.
However, Jo noted, "Of course, if the Democratic Party actively utilizes local currency due to their higher understanding of it, the company's performance will significantly improve," adding, "If the Democratic Party's supplementary budget of 1 trillion won for local currency is executed, the company’s performance will greatly improve."
Earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea independently passed a supplementary budget proposal reflecting 1 trillion won for local currency (local love gift certificates) at the National Assembly's Administrative Safety Committee on the 28th.
Jo stated, "If the 1 trillion won supplementary budget for local currency promoted by the Democratic Party is executed, I expect a minimum transaction scale increase of over 25 trillion won."
Specifically, he explained, "Revenue from local currency payment fees will grow more than double compared to the previous year, and operating profit could increase to about 100 billion won under simple calculations."
In addition, there has been a movement to expand local currency incentives and recharge limits among local governments, leading to expectations for further performance improvement.
Local currency platform developer KONA I was selected as the operator of the Gyeonggi local currency project in 2019 when Lee Jae-myung, a candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea for the presidential election, was the governor of Gyeonggi Province. Recently, it has been classified as an 'Lee Jae-myung theme stock,' with its stock price rising significantly.
Meanwhile, Jo clarified regarding the sale of shares in the market shortly after the company's stock price surged due to being included in political theme stocks, stating, "I needed funding personally because I have to pay taxes as per the National Tax Service's audit and bear attorney expenses."