This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:55 p.m. on Apr. 16, 2026.
The mother fund, regarded as the "lifeline" of Korea's venture investment market, is tightening screenings for its commitment programs. In addition to exit performance, it will actively reflect the performance of portfolio corporations after listing in GP selection evaluations. The aim is to prevent "hasty initial public offerings (IPOs)" and to assess the capability to manage listed corporations afterward.
According to the investment banking (IB) and venture capital (VC) industries on the 16th, Korea Venture Investment Corporation, which operates the mother fund, has newly added "performance after listing by portfolio corporations" as an evaluation criterion in the ongoing GP selection process for commitment programs. In particular, the new standard has been applied starting with the presentation evaluation for the first regular commitment program now under review.
Performance after listing by portfolio corporations includes post-listing stock price trends, efforts to enhance corporate value, and continuity of technology development. Korea Venture Investment Corporation said, "We cannot disclose the detailed criteria, but support programs for the investee corporations' investor relations (IR) activities and their results have been included among the key evaluation items."
The strengthened screening criteria for Korea Venture Investment Corporation's commitment programs are seen as aligning with the government's "capital market structural improvement plan." The financial authorities and other government bodies have consistently pointed to hasty IPOs that force corporations lacking self-sustainability to list as a factor weakening KOSDAQ's competitiveness.
In particular, the financial authorities saw pressure on VCs to make short-term exits as being behind poor-quality listings. In a structure centered on internal rate of return (IRR), which had served as the definitive indicator for GP selection, VCs were effectively compelled to fixate on "the listing itself" rather than on corporations' fundamentals.
Korea Venture Investment Corporation will also adjust fund operations. It is pushing to extend fund maturities to 10 years or more from the current seven, taking into account the time required to go public. The plan is to ease exit pressure so VCs can identify promising corporations with a longer horizon and manage them even after listing.
The VC industry appears visibly tense. While the most effective strategy has been to discover promising corporations early and generate exit performance after listing, now firms will need to prove capabilities in post-listing stock support and aftercare to secure mother fund capital. Reinforcing aftercare staff is also seen as a burden.
A VC industry official said, "It is positive that extending maturities could reduce short-term exit pressure, but the pressure to 'take responsibility to the end' has grown just as much," adding, "The fact that post-listing performance is directly tied to the manager's evaluation score is indeed a considerable psychological and practical burden."