The Financial Supervisory Service urged investors in unlisted stocks to independently verify company information, solicitation firms and listing progress before investing, as interest in potential pre-listing returns rises and losses from false or exaggerated pitches continue. In guidance issued on the 7th, the FSS recommended checking the target company through DART, Korea's electronic disclosure system, including business reports, securities registration statements and available auditor's reports. If no audit report is available, the company may be below the external-audit threshold, indicating that a listing could still be years away. Investors should also verify whether unfamiliar solicitors are licensed financial companies through the Financial Consumer Information Portal FINE and cross-check the Korean Venture Capital Association's membership list. Soliciting shares from 50 or more people, including the investor, constitutes a public offering under the Capital Markets Act and generally requires relevant securities registration or small-scale public offering filings. Claims of an imminent listing should be checked with the company and the cited brokerage for a representative underwriter, through the Korea Securities Depository's securities information portal for transfer-agent and electronic-securities details, and on the Korea Exchange's KIND website for a preliminary listing-review application. The FSS also previously cited cases involving phone and KakaoTalk sales without securities reports and an unlisted pharmaceutical and biotech company that promoted pending FDA approval and a planned KOSDAQ listing while recording operating losses and failing to provide required information.