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Headquarters of LS Corp. (LS Tower). (Photo = LS Cable & System) |
[Alpha Biz= Lee Joonhyun] LS Corp. is facing mounting criticism after disclosing a major reporting error that overstated its order backlog by approximately KRW 1.5 trillion in its first-quarter report.
According to regulatory filings on May 28, LS revised its quarterly report submitted on May 15, significantly reducing figures in its electric business segment. The total order amount in the “Others” category was corrected from KRW 2.38 trillion to KRW 23.8 billion, while the remaining backlog dropped from KRW 1.54 trillion to KRW 15.4 billion.
As a result, LS’s overall order backlog decreased from KRW 18.27 trillion to KRW 16.74 trillion, effectively wiping out around KRW 1.5 trillion in reported value.
The delayed correction—coming 12 days after the original filing—has raised concerns over the company’s internal disclosure controls. Market participants criticized the incident, noting that order backlog is a key indicator for future performance, and such a large discrepancy should have been detected earlier.
LS shares fell 8.14% on the day of the correction, reflecting investor concerns over transparency and governance. The stock had previously surged more than 2.5 times this year, driven by optimism surrounding AI data center expansion and power infrastructure investments.
The company attributed the error to a simple input mistake by an employee and stated that there were no changes to backlog figures in its core power infrastructure businesses, including cables and transformers.
However, critics argue that attributing a trillion-won-level error to a clerical mistake highlights broader weaknesses in the company’s disclosure and verification systems.
Alphabiz 이준현 기자(wtcloud83@alphabiz.co.kr)
