DART Filings Explained for U.S. Investors
DART is the Financial Supervisory Service’s corporate disclosure system. Start from the company’s filing history, choose the report and reporting period, check for corrections, and open the original document. Compare figures only after matching statement scope, currency, and period length; a summary or translated label is not a substitute for the filing.
Reviewed
- Distinguish the filing date from the financial period end.
- Match consolidated or separate statements before comparing figures.
- Follow corrections back to the relevant report.
Open the document behind the number
In Samsung Electronics’ Financials view, select a period and follow the filing history to the source. Record the report title, period, and filing link alongside any number you use. If a report is missing or a viewer fails, leave the figure unverified and consult DART or the issuer’s reporting archive; do not infer it from a nearby period.
Match scope and duration before comparing
OpenDART distinguishes consolidated statements (CFS) from separate statements (OFS), and three-month income-statement amounts from accumulated amounts. A group total and a parent-only total answer different questions. Likewise, a half-year accumulated figure should not be compared directly with a single quarter when calculating growth.
Check the correction trail
FSS filing search includes revised reports and flags for later corrections or withdrawals. Read the corrected document and note which fact changed before updating a research note. Retain the source link you used so a later reader can distinguish the earlier submission from the correction.
Use an issuer archive as a second route
Samsung publishes financial statements with income statements, cash-flow statements, and footnotes in its IR archive. Use that archive to locate the relevant English report, then reconcile the period and scope with the DART-linked figures. Do not assume an English page is a complete translation of every Korean disclosure.
Common questions
Is a quarterly filing the same as three months of cash flow?
Not necessarily. Check the statement heading and whether its amounts are quarterly or cumulative. The report type alone does not establish the duration of every figure inside it.
What if an English report is unavailable?
Use the original Korean DART document and the issuer’s IR archive. Verify the company, period, and scope, and treat any machine translation as a reading aid rather than authoritative wording.