This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 9:28 a.m. on May 27, 2026.
Seoul Electronics & Telecom, a KOSDAQ-listed company once owned by Kim Won-woo, second-generation owner of National Information & Credit Evaluation (NICE) Group, is preparing to sell its controlling stake, and the buyer side has been identified as the same group that recently attempted to acquire NHN Bugs. They tried to acquire NHN Bugs earlier this year with plans to enter the drone business but ultimately failed to raise the remaining funds and the acquisition fell through.
According to the capital markets industry on the 27th, Seoul Electronics & Telecom recently decided to sell 41.86% of its shares held by Chairman Kim and related parties to Daon International and SET No. 1 and No. 2 investment partnerships for 10,866,512,393 won. The transfer of shares will take place on the 28th of this month when the trading suspension due to the share consolidation ends, or on a date decided by separate agreement.
The sale of Seoul Electronics & Telecom, the only publicly listed company owned by the owner family of National Information & Credit Evaluation (NICE) Group, appears to stem from pronounced recent declines in performance and stock price. Last year, Seoul Electronics & Telecom reported sales of 33.7 billion won and an operating loss of 1.6 billion won, marking its eighth consecutive year of losses since 2018. Accordingly, its stock has shown little sign of recovery. As of the previous day, Seoul Electronics & Telecom's share price stood at 480 won and its market capitalization remained at 33.4 billion won.
Legal risks are also widening. Seoul Electronics & Telecom is involved in a suit to recover a deposit from Abpro Bio, the counterparty in the sale of its former subsidiary Zinitix. In the first trial, Seoul Electronics & Telecom lost and was ordered to compensate 8 billion won, and the second-trial decision is scheduled for the 28th. If it loses again in the second trial, the refund including interest will reach 11 billion won. That amount exceeds the company's cash-like assets of 6.7 billion won as of the end of March.
Despite poor performance and the compensation issue, Seoul Electronics & Telecom has nonetheless found a prospective buyer. This has heightened market interest in the identity of the acquirer. They had tried to acquire NHN Bugs in January to enter the drone business but ultimately failed because they could not raise the funds.
Song Yoo-young, one of the co-CEOs of Daon International, the strategic investor (SI) acquiring Seoul Electronics & Telecom, was the head of the Green Harbor & Bugs investment partnership that acted as a financial investor (FI) when pursuing the NHN Bugs acquisition. Song was appointed as a representative of Daon International on the 12th. It is presumed that Daon International was effectively used as a vehicle for this acquisition.
The SET No. 1 and No. 2 investment partnerships, which will participate as FIs, are also linked to NHN Bugs. The previous partnership names of SET No. 1 and No. 2 were Green Harbor & Haesung No. 1 investment partnership and Bugs & Drone Growth No. 2 partnership, respectively. Green Harbor & Haesung used a name similar to the Green Harbor investment partnership that acted as an FI during the NHN Bugs acquisition, and Bugs & Drone Growth appears related to plans to enter the drone business after acquiring NHN Bugs.
However, the buyer side says the FIs are not directly connected to the FIs that pursued the NHN Bugs acquisition. Song said, "The partnership that participated as an FI in the Bugs acquisition is a separate partnership," and added, "The composition of the partners is completely different."
There are also suspicious views in the market surrounding this sale process. Seoul Electronics & Telecom initially selected a preferred bidder and continued sales discussions, but after that deal fell through due to funding problems, the transaction was led by NICE Holdings. During this process there were reportedly better offers, but the company ultimately signed a contract with the current buyer. It is known that a previous deal with the current buyer also fell through once, but the current buyer prevailed over other offers and signed the contract.
In response, NICE Holdings said, "Among numerous potential buyers, we judged this candidate to have presented the most suitable terms."