Jo Man-ho, who stepped down as CEO of Musinsa, aims to grow the fashion ecosystem

Founder of Musinsa, former CEO Jo Man-ho.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Former Musinsa CEO Jo Man-ho plans to focus on expanding the fashion ecosystem after stepping down from frontline management. As chairman of the board, Jo intends to concentrate on establishing the company's mid- to long-term strategies and supporting the growth of Korean fashion brands.

On the 3rd, Jo announced his resignation as CEO through a press release. He explained the reason for his resignation, saying, “I sincerely apologize to customers disappointed with Musinsa due to the issuance of coupons targeting specific customers and the recent controversy over event images, as well as to the affected partner brands. Regardless of the reasons, I fully accept responsibility and step down from my roles as operator and CEO.”

In March this year, Musinsa issued discount coupons for Wooshinsa (a women’s specialized fashion store created by Musinsa) exclusively to female members, which drew complaints from customers accusing the company of “gender discrimination.” Recently, an event promotional image featuring a finger gesture was criticized as being derogatory toward men.

However, the fashion industry speculates that Jo’s resignation was a planned move. The coupon controversy was resolved after Jo personally apologized as the issue escalated. The criticism over the use of a male-derogatory image was also quickly addressed by Musinsa, ending without major controversy. This resignation is therefore predicted to be a step toward laying the groundwork for a potential initial public offering (IPO) expected next year.

In fact, Jo revealed that he had expressed his intention to resign several months ago and had been focusing on preparing for his successor. It is anticipated that the successor will be an expert capable of accelerating the IPO process. According to the investment banking industry, Musinsa’s expected market capitalization at next year’s listing is estimated between 3 trillion and 3.5 trillion KRW. In March this year, the company received an additional 130 billion KRW investment from Sequoia Capital, IMM Investment, and others, recognizing a corporate value of 2.5 trillion KRW.

After resigning, Jo will step back from frontline management and serve as chairman of the board. He will not participate in the operation of Musinsa Store but will focus on establishing mid- to long-term strategies for the company, including overseas business, and supporting the growth of Korean fashion brands.

Additionally, he plans to gradually sell part of his personal shares to secure approximately 50 billion KRW in funds, which will be invested in a fashion fund managed by Musinsa’s investment subsidiary, Musinsa Partners. This fund will focus on early-stage investments centered on small emerging brands, and Jo will also share the experience and know-how he accumulated while operating Musinsa Store.

Jo sent an email titled “I am about to conclude 20 years” to Musinsa employees, stating, “While Musinsa has worked to help small and medium brands reach more domestic customers, it is now time to start concrete preparations to introduce our partner brands to overseas customers as well. In the mid to long term, I intend to find my role in discovering promising emerging brands and enhancing the competitiveness of Korean fashion brands.”

Meanwhile, Musinsa started in 2001 as a community called “Mujinjang Shinbal Sajin-i Manheun Goseul” (a place with many shoe photos) founded by Jo and has rapidly expanded its presence. After launching the fashion platform ‘Musinsa Store’ in 2009, it expanded its business by opening ‘Wooshinsa,’ a women’s specialized fashion store, in 2016. In 2019, it became the tenth unicorn company in Korea (a private company valued at over 1 trillion KRW).

Last month, Musinsa grew larger by acquiring StyleShare and 29CM for 300 billion KRW and made a full-scale expansion into the offline market by opening its first offline store, ‘Musinsa Standard Hongdae.’

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.