[THE INVESTOR] Six listed companies in South Korea have received disclaimers of opinion from external auditors in their semiannual report.

The independent external auditor of STX Heavy Industries gave the alarming opinion of financially trouble as its balance sheet and income statement in the January-June period include uncertainties as the company has gone into court receivership.

Two other KOSPI-listed firms -- Hyundai Paint and Korea Steel Shapes -- were issued the same audit report as their continued existence could not be guaranteed.

Three companies on the secondary KOSDAQ market -- MJB, SS Comtech and Woojeon -- also received disclaimers of opinions.

Of the six companies, trading in the shares of Hyundai Paint, Korea Steel Shapes, MJB, SS Comtech have been halted following the audit reports.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)