‘IPO risk’ was useless in front of Baek Jong-won.

The Born Korea (475560), of which broadcaster Baek Jong-won is listed as the largest shareholder and representative, hit a ‘jackpot’ on the first day of its KOSPI listing. At one point during the day, it was traded at 64,500 won, a 70% surge from the IPO price, and closed at 51,400 won per share, up 51.18%.

Thanks to the skyrocketing stock price of The Born Korea, Baek Jong-won joined the ranks of the ‘stock millionaires’, whose stock value alone was ‘450 billion won’ as of the 6th. According to corporate status, Baek Jong-won holds 8,792,850 shares, accounting for 60.78% of the issued shares of The Born Korea. Converted based on the closing price on the first day of KOSPI listing, it amounts to 451,952,490,000 won. Based on the public offering price (34,000 won), CEO Baek‘s stake was worth 298,956,900,000 won, and its value increased by ‘more than 160 billion won’ in just one day.

CEO Baek’s listing of The Born Korea draws more attention as it avoids the ‘IPO risk’ that hit the stock market this year, forming a ‘stardly contrast’. A number of companies that attempted to list directly on the stock market through public offerings within the year have suffered from the risk of a sharp drop on the first day of listing without receiving the so-called ‘newbie premium’ benefits.

Baek Jong-won‘s The Born Korea owns and operates as many as 25 restaurant brands, including Paekdabang, Hong Kong Banjeom, and Saemaeul Restaurant. With the number of domestic franchise stores estimated to be over 2,900, The Born Korea has also expanded its business area to the hotel business and opened The Born Hotel in Jeju Island.

At the same time, CEO Baek has raised expectations for the IPO (initial public offering) to the max by rising as a global star beyond Korea through the Netflix original entertainment show ‘Black and White Chef: Culinary Class Wars’.

The public offering price was set at 34,000 won per share, an increase of 21% from the desired band (23,000 won to 28,000 won) through demand forecasting conducted last month prior to the public offering, and the general subscription competition rate recorded 773 to 1, heralding a ‘great success’.


Reporter Heo Min-nyeong mignon@donga.com