Lee Yeon-woo is a financial journalist at The Korea Times. Her wide range of reporting includes policies, macroeconomics, stock market, companies and even crypto. She is passionate about connecting the dots in Korean finance and making it easier for foreign nationals to understand. Based on her previous experience as a national reporter, she also has a keen interest in social issues within the sector, including gender equality and ESG. Your tips and insights are always appreciated. You can send them to yanu@koreatimes.co.kr.
HD Hyundai, LS, SK hit pause on IPO plans as Korea delays dual-listing rules
President Lee Jae Myung looks at a robot at HD Hyundai’s exhibition booth after a meeting with shipbuilding companies in Ulsan, May 13. Yonhap
By Lee Yeon-woo
Delayed government guidelines on dual listings are forcing major Korean conglomerates, including HD Hyundai, LS and SK, to shelve or reassess subsidiary initial public offering (IPO) plans, raising concerns that regulatory uncertainty is cooling the country's listing market, industry officials said Thursday.
Among the companies affected is HD Hyundai Robotics, a major IPO candidate whose listing plans have been thrown into uncertainty. The company suspended working-level preparations for its listing in February. HD Hyundai, which owns an 81.82 percent stake in the robotics unit, had been preparing the IPO, saying it was necessary to support the stable growth of its robotics business, which requires continued large-scale investment.
The halt came as guidelines on dual-listing regulations, originally expected to be released earlier this month, remain in limbo, with no fixed announcement date.
A dual listing refers to a case in which a listed parent company spins off and lists a profitable business unit, or lists an unlisted subsidiary. Because the subsidiary's value is usually already reflected in the parent company’s share price, a separate listing can weigh on the parent company's stock.
Since the beginning of this year, the government has been trying to crack down on dual listings, which are considered a key factor behind the "Korea discount."
The main point of contention is how broadly exemptions should be allowed. Regulators fear that excessive exemptions could weaken the policy's effectiveness, while business circles argue that uniform rules could hurt companies with different ownership structures and funding needs.
The uncertainty has not been limited to HD Hyundai. Other conglomerates have also moved to shelve or unwind listing plans amid growing regulatory pressure.
LS Group scrapped its plan in January to list Essex Solutions, a great-grand subsidiary of LS, after President Lee Jae Myung singled out the group as a key culprit behind the Korea discount. LS Electric repurchased stakes in LS Eco Advanced Materials worth 70 billion won ($45.26 million), making it a wholly owned subsidiary instead of pursuing an IPO.
In June, SK Ecoplant, once seen as a major IPO candidate, also repaid pre-IPO funds raised in 2022 by buying back convertible preferred shares held by financial investors as treasury shares. The company had pledged to go public by July this year when it secured the investment.
While holding company shares have surged on hopes for tighter dual-listing rules, industry officials say regulatory uncertainty has effectively drained vitality from the IPO market and shut off funding routes for some companies.
According to LSEG Data & Analytics, 15 companies had listed on the Korean stock market as of June 3, raising a combined total of about $700 million. Between 2020 and 2025, Korea averaged around 80 new listings a year, with annual fundraising of roughly $8 billion.
The slowdown stands in stark contrast to the strength of the Korean market. The benchmark KOSPI has more than doubled over the past year, posting the strongest gain among major global stock indexes.
“Dual listings and tougher listing-review regulations have reduced both the number of marquee IPO candidates and the overall number of listings, leaving fundraising volumes sharply lower and prolonging the supply-demand imbalance in the IPO market,” said Kang Young-hoon, an analyst at Samsung Securities.