K-Culture Companies Rush to IPOs...Expanding Beyond K-Pop into AI and Technology

The K-pop industry is evolving from a simple form of entertainment into a diversified sector that combines technology and culture. As major K-culture firms pursue initial public offerings one after another to seek new growth drivers, smaller agencies are also achieving success in global markets. Galaxy Corporation is a comprehensive K-culture company that owns the agency for singer G-Dragon, as well as virtual human production firm PersonaSpace, and content creation companies such as LOUISWORKS MEDIA, WDM, and Studio Rudolph, which have produced popular variety shows. Having expanded its operations into management, marketing, and technology fields, the company is conducting a pre-IPO overseas and has selected Daishin Securities and Shinhan Investment Securities as co-lead underwriters for an expected listing next year. KQ Entertainment, a company specializing in K-pop, is also on the path to going public. Leading groups such as ATEEZ and the rookie group xikers, the company organized a world tour involving 200,000 fans worldwide after ATEEZ reached number one on the Billboard 200 last year. Its sales in 2023 amounted to 115.8 billion won, with operating profits of 12.5 billion won, representing a growth rate of over 150% compared to the previous year. KQ plans to attempt an IPO next year by partnering with Mirae Asset Securities. Creative Meot, a content solution company led by CEO Kim Tae-hwan, who formerly worked as a commercial director, covers content production (MDR), technology research (Proto MediaTech), and brand marketing (PlusBI). The company has handled comeback promotions for groups such as BOYNEXTDOOR and Kim Beom-soo, and it launched the entertainment-tech platform “Tunes Store” together with Hyundai Department Store and AWS. It aims to list on the KOSDAQ market in the second half of this year through NH Investment Securities. SUNNT, a short-form content production company run by CEO Park Chang-woo, is an MCN-based enterprise. It operates content creation, advertising, e-commerce, and management services with around 180 influencers who collectively have approximately 1.8 billion subscribers domestically and internationally. The company has chosen Hana Securities as its lead underwriter and is preparing for an IPO next year or the year after. Leperie, a beauty creator business firm, has HPE as its main investor. It has nurtured over 1,500 beauty and fashion influencers, including LeoJ and Minsko, and recently expanded its commerce channels through the “SelectStore” project, signaling plans to grow into a “beautetail” business that integrates online and offline operations. The company targets an IPO next year via Shinhan Investment Securities. OlympPlanet, a XR specialist firm, is a full-stack XR technology company that applies extended reality technology to various industries such as construction, exhibitions, commerce, and healthcare. It filed for preliminary review of a KOSDAQ listing through Daishin Securities alongside a rebranding of its fan-based platform “Xromeda.” Meanwhile, smaller agencies are also achieving global success. The girl group Kiss of Life from S2 Entertainment filled stadiums in Jakarta and Macau during their world tour “KISS ROAD” and received strong support from fans thanks to songs like “Sticky” and “Midas Touch.” Kim Yoon-ji, a senior researcher at the Korea Eximbank Overseas Economic Research Institute, said, “The decline in album sales is actually a process of deflating the bubble in K-pop album sales, which had been unusually high worldwide and even faced accusations of forced promotion, and returning to normal levels. It is necessary to balance this by increasing revenue from concerts and IP-related activities.” Virtual idols are also demonstrating new possibilities. The virtual girl group “IITERNITI,” created using deep real AI technology through a collaboration between the Korea Electronics and Communications Research Institute (ETRI) and domestic content company Pulse Nine, was featured by major global media outlets such as BBC as a representative example of K-Pop AI idols. ETRI developed a technology that converts existing 2D videos into 3D using AI, and this technology was adopted as a core component for 3D services in ATSC 3.0, the next-generation international standard for digital television set by the U.S. Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC). The wave of IPOs among K-culture companies reflects a shift from a K-pop-centric focus to a content industry based on technology integration. Moon Kyung-mi, CEO of The Companies, said, “K-culture is currently at a turning point where it aims to move beyond K-pop and become a global platform. The IPOs of K-culture companies with diverse strategies will serve as a decisive catalyst for expanding the domestic content industry.”