This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 8:11 a.m. on Aug. 14, 2026.
Korean venture capital (VC) firms that invested in ASWEMAKE, a food materials mart digital transformation (DX) startup, decided to write off their investments in full. Some VCs' losses were found to exceed 5 billion won. ASWEMAKE's accounting manipulation came to light, and the company's grocery delivery service "Qmarket" was also shut down.
On the 14th, according to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Kang Seung-gyu and the VC industry, LB Investment(309960), A Ventures, Wonik Investment Partners and other major Korean VCs that invested in ASWEMAKE recently decided to fully amortize their investments. Amortization means recognizing the investment as a loss on the view that recovery is unlikely.
The VCs' total investment was tallied at more than 26 billion won. LB Investment and A Ventures participated as major investors in ASWEMAKE's late-stage fundraising and reportedly poured in close to 10 billion won. Wonik Investment Partners is also understood to have made a 1 billion won investment.
ASWEMAKE's decision to end Qmarket, a grocery delivery service it had run based on neighborhood food materials marts, and other mounting difficulties with continuing operations led to the investment write-offs. It is also reported that the chief financial officer (CFO), who oversaw the company's finances, as well as founder and CEO Son Su-young, left the company.
ASWEMAKE launched in 2019 as a DX startup that delivers same-day when consumers order products from nearby marts and provides inventory management and settlement solutions to the marts. By fronting software and data businesses, it was cited as a platform that rarely posts revenue and was once regarded as a promising initial public offering (IPO) candidate.
Signs of accounting manipulation set it off. The company began seeking 50 billion won in new funding this year and, during the bookbuilding process, said it achieved 30 billion won in sales last year with a 40% operating margin. Investors then raised doubts that such an operating margin was impossible in the food materials distribution business, which has many product types and low margins.
In particular, when investors conducting due diligence asked the accounting firm named in the report to confirm the facts, the accounting firm reportedly replied that it had not issued the report in question. It was also known that there was a large gap between the amount on the bank balance certificate and the actual account balance.
Afterward, existing shareholders held an emergency meeting in early last month, fully halted follow-on investment procedures, and began a separate due diligence through an outside accounting firm. When the new funding process was suspended, ASWEMAKE ultimately ended Qmarket operations in early this month. Settlements with onboarded marts and consumer damages have not yet been confirmed.
CEO Son then attended a shareholder meeting held on the 5th and admitted to accounting manipulation and expressed intent to resign. Son is reported to have said, "From the third quarter of 2023, some sales were manipulated." Son also reportedly claimed it was an act done alone and that only sales were manipulated, not expense.
Investor response is moving beyond write-offs into legal disputes. Some investors filed a criminal complaint against CEO Son Su-young and others on charges of fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, initiating criminal proceedings. The accounting firm that had been asked to verify the facts also began reviewing legal action over the alleged forgery of the audit report.
A VC industry source said, "Even if a VC receives monthly performance reports and sits on the board, if the data provided are manipulated, it is not easy to detect problems in advance," adding, "Most existing investors, who took note of performance growth during the 50 billion won fundraising, were positively reviewing follow-on investments."
Some say the fallout from ASWEMAKE's accounting irregularities could spread across platform startups overall. An investment banking industry source said, "Already-weakened investment sentiment toward platforms may shrink further," adding, "Financial due diligence is also highly likely to be added to venture investment reviews that had relied only on financial materials."