The number of regulatory disclosure rule violations by firms in South Korea more than halved in 2021 from a year earlier amid stepped-up efforts to protect investors from misleading or false information, data showed Thursday.

According to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service, there were 87 cases of regulatory filing rule violations last year, which involved a total of 73 listed and unlisted firms.

The figure was sharply down from 193 violations a year earlier and marked the lowest since 2018, when the corresponding number fell to 65.

The decline came amid the regulator's continued efforts to educate companies on rules regarding regulatory disclosures to protect investors from misleading and concealed major business decisions.

Of the total violations, 21 cases, or 24.1 percent were subject to penalties, while 66 cases, or 75.9 percent, received a light punishment, such as warnings and orders for taking corrective measures, the data showed.

Fifty-one unlisted firms were among the violators, which accounted for 70 percent of the total violations. Of the remaining listed ones, 15 were listed on the secondary tech-heavy KOSDAQ market, the data showed. (Yonhap)