Baek Jong-won’s 'The Born Korea' to Pursue KOSDAQ Listing

The franchise 'The Born Korea,' operated by CEO Baek Jong-won, will resume its initial public offering (IPO) process this year. It has been six years since the company first attempted an IPO in 2018.

According to the distribution industry on the 25th, The Born Korea is planning to list on the KOSDAQ ahead of its 30th anniversary this year. The joint lead managers are NH Investment & Securities and Korea Investment & Securities. It is expected that the company will submit the '2023 audit report' in April and file an application for preliminary review of listing with the KOSDAQ Market Headquarters of the Korea Exchange.

Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea

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Preparatory work for the IPO is also underway. On the 11th, The Born Korea announced to shareholders that it would conduct a bonus issue, granting two shares for every one share owned. Currently, the total number of shares is 382,201, and after the bonus issue, the number of shares will triple to 1,146,603.

A bonus issue by an unlisted company is generally interpreted as an effort to increase the number of tradable shares to facilitate the design of the new share issuance scale or the public offering structure.

The Born Korea attempted to go public in 2018 with NH Investment & Securities as the lead manager but postponed the plan due to difficulties in the dining industry caused by COVID-19 and its aftermath.

However, the situation in the dining industry has changed with the endemic phase. The Born Korea is continuing its growth trend. In 2022, sales and operating profit were 282.1 billion KRW and 25.7 billion KRW respectively, marking increases of 45% and 32% compared to the previous year's 194.1 billion KRW and 19.4 billion KRW. CEO Baek stated in a 2022 interview with a media outlet, "We will go public in the year of our 30th anniversary (2024)."

Currently, CEO Baek holds a 76.69% stake in The Born Korea, making him the largest shareholder. The second-largest shareholder is Executive Director Kang Seok-won, who holds 21.09%. The Born Korea stated, "No exact schedule has been decided yet, and we are preparing steadily without rushing."

Meanwhile, The Born Korea, founded by CEO Baek in 1994, operates over 20 dining brands including Hanshin Pocha, Saemaeul Sikdang, Paik’s Coffee, Yeokjeon Udon, Hong Kong Banjeom 0410, and also runs Jeju The Born Hotel.

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