Among the most closely watched are K Bank — which has already filed its preliminary prospectus and is awaiting approval — as well as beauty-and-fashion leaders CJ Olive Young, Musinsa, and Gudai Global, the rising Korean retail brands with expanding global footprints.
Their listings have been discussed for years but were repeatedly pushed back during the prolonged market slump. With the KOSPI on track for its best-ever performance and investment banks projecting next year’s index range anywhere between 4,500 and 7,500, sentiment has turned decisively optimistic.
Musinsa and Gudai Global are expected to be the biggest attractions, with valuations that could approach 10 trillion won ($6.8 billion). Musinsa has confirmed its IPO intent and is expected to select a lead underwriter within the year, though final approval is still pending. The fashion platform aims to use IPO proceeds to accelerate global expansion, a strategy reiterated by CEO Park Jun-mo.
Gudai, which joined the 1-trillion-won sales club last year, expects the time is ripe, with revenue estimated to top 1.7 trillion won this year on strong U.S. sales through Amazon.
Musinsa has been strengthening its presence in Japan by appointing Mike Ikeda, former CEO of Dr. Martens Japan, to lead its local unit. Its platform now introduces more than 3,000 brands to Japanese consumers, with Japan sales surging 120 percent on-year in the third quarter.
Despite mounting price competition from low-cost chains such as Daiso, Olive Young is still expected to benefit from the global wave of interest in Korean beauty over the next three to five years, according to Kim Ju-duck, dean of the Graduate School of Convergence Beauty at Sungshin Women’s University.
Other potential IPO standouts include AI startup Upstage — targeting a valuation above 2 trillion won on the strength of its Large Language Model technology — and medical device firm Reves Med, which has passed its listing review and plans to go public next month. LS Group affiliate Essex Solutions is also undergoing preliminary KOSPI review. Both Upstage and Reves Med are considered unicorns with valuations exceeding 1 trillion won.
This year’s IPO market contracted sharply, with total fundraising reaching just 3 trillion won in the first half, far below the 20 trillion won annually recorded during the 2021–2022 boom. But with the KOSPI up more than 70 percent year-to-date, retail deposits earmarked for stock investment have ballooned to 85 trillion won. Recent IPOs have also priced at the top of their indicative ranges, signaling strong investor appetite.
Government initiatives to invigorate the capital market — including lower taxes on dividend income and expanded venture capital supply — further strengthen the environment for new listings. A senior asset management official noted that the administration’s commitment to boosting the market is likely to draw both fresh issuers and eager investors back into the IPO pipeline.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
