This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:55 p.m. on Jul. 23, 2026.
Mirae Asset Securities is rolling out a series of KOSPI heavyweights in the initial public offering (IPO) market. After filing a preliminary listing review for Sono International last month with a target corporate value in the low 3 trillion won range, it plans to submit preliminary reviews this week (the fourth week of July) and next week (the fifth week of July) for OLED materials company SFC and security facility management firm ESTec System.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 23rd, SFC is expected to file a preliminary review for a KOSPI listing with the Korea Exchange (KRX) this week. ESTec System is also in the final stages of preparing to file next week. Both companies have effectively completed prior consultations with the exchange's main board division.
Mirae Asset Securities is the lead underwriter for SFC, with Korea Investment & Securities Co. as joint underwriter. SFC, a corporations that produces OLED emitting materials, is expected to be valued at around 1 trillion won after listing. When major domestic securities firms competed for the underwriter role last year, most reportedly proposed a market capitalization exceeding 1 trillion won.
Mirae Asset Securities is the sole underwriter for the listing of ESTec System. ESTec System was established in 1999 after being spun off from S-1, a security affiliate of the Samsung Group, and has expanded its business to include manned security, facility management, and quarantine services. Its annual revenue exceeds 700 billion won, and the corporate value discussed in the market after listing is about 500 billion won.
Earlier, on the 26th of last month, Mirae Asset Securities, together with Daishin Securities, filed a preliminary review for Sono International's listing. Sono International is a core affiliate of the Sono Trinity Group, which operates hotels, resorts, and leisure facilities at home and abroad, and is said to be targeting a corporate value in the low 3 trillion won range.
There are more companies for which Mirae Asset Securities is handling KOSPI listings. Mirae Asset is also the domestic lead underwriter for Goodai Global, a K-beauty "giant" with an expected corporate value reportedly in the 10 trillion won range. PRND Company, which operates the used-car transaction platform "Hey Dealer," also appointed Mirae Asset Securities as lead underwriter and KB証券 as joint underwriter. However, these corporations have not yet finalized the timing for filing their preliminary reviews.
Meanwhile, other KOSPI heavyweights handled by securities firms besides Mirae Asset are lining up to launch. Fashion company Musinsa selected Korea Investment & Securities Co. and Citigroup Global Markets Securities as lead underwriters, with KB証券 and JP Morgan participating as joint underwriters. Musinsa is said to be reviewing filing for a preliminary review as early as late August or in September based on first-half results.
Megazone Cloud, which is expected to be valued at 4 trillion–5 trillion won, is also in full swing preparing for a listing with Samsung Securities, Korea Investment & Securities Co., and JP Morgan at the center. Shipbuilding equipment corporations SB Sunbo selected KB証券 and Korea Investment & Securities Co. as joint lead underwriters and is pushing to enter the KOSPI within the year with a 1 trillion won-range corporate value target.
In the first half of this year, KOSPI IPOs were effectively in a "closed for business" state. From January to June, the only corporations to file a preliminary review for a KOSPI listing was Sono International at the end of June. During this period, the only company to debut on the KOSPI market was Kbank. In the case of Essex Solutions, the review was voluntarily withdrawn after President Lee Jae-myung publicly raised issues related to dual listing.
The backdrop to the near absence of KOSPI IPOs in the first half was uncertainty related to dual-listing regulations. After the Financial Services Commission indicated in March that it would in principle prohibit dual listings, specific details such as criteria for recognizing exceptions and measures to protect parent-company shareholders were not finalized, so listing candidate corporations and underwriters waited rather than rushing to file with the exchange. It was only on the 7th of this month that financial authorities began officially collecting opinions on a regulatory amendment and guidelines detailing dual-listing criteria. As a result, not only corporations subject to dual listing but also other KOSPI listing candidates are said to have set conservative timelines to check how the exchange's review stance and investor protection standards might change, according to industry analysis.
A financial investment industry official said, "The recent bull run in the domestic stock market also seems to have contributed to the surge in second-half KOSPI listings," adding, "Companies filing for preliminary reviews in the second half of this year will enter the market in the first half of next year, and as the offering schedules of heavyweights align, the IPO market will also become quite active."