Insights

As the venture-investment market rebounds, the landscape for VC exits is shifting. New venture-fund commitments had declined since 2021 but rebounded to KRW 14.3 trillion in 2025 (up 35.2% year on year), aided by government policies to foster venture capital and the easing of high interest rates. The first half of 2026 recorded KRW 8.4 trillion (up 36.8% year on year), the second-highest first-half figure on record, with average fund size trending larger. On the LP side, private-sector commitments reached 80.8% of the total in 2025.

The IPO is emerging as the core route for VC exits. The IPO share of VC exits rose from 24.3% in 2022 to 37.9% in the first half of 2026, while the trade-sale share fell from 56.5% to 47.7% over the same period. Even as the number of KOSDAQ IPOs declines, the share of VC-backed companies among them rose from 54.4% in 2023 to 73.4% in 2025—so KOSDAQ conditions increasingly shape VC exits. Among KOSDAQ listings in 2025–1H 2026, bio/medical/healthcare was the largest sector at 30.1%.

The listing bar is rising, and screening is becoming more rigorous. The share of "technology companies" listed via technology-evaluation or growth special tracks expanded from around 25% in 2018 to roughly half in 2024; even so, market volatility and tighter listing requirements have made IPO conditions unfavorable. As institutional demand-forecast (bookbuilding) competition ratios and lock-up commitment ratios become variables that determine offering outcomes, the importance of screening readiness—revenue substance and financial reliability, validation of technology and commercialization, and the tidying of capital structure and stakeholder interests—has grown.

The definition of success is moving from "getting listed" to "settling in the market and achieving real exits." The report groups the four key issues around VC and IPOs into stages—(i) investment and funding, (ii) listing preparation, (iii) offering and listing, and (iv) post-listing maintenance and capital recovery—and argues for integrated design from the earliest investment stage through post-listing exit. Rather than relying solely on complex contractual provisions to manage downside, VC should diversify through appropriate entry pricing, enhanced due diligence, and multiple exit routes.

M&A implications. As uncertainty around the IPO route grows, the center of gravity in exit strategy is likely to diversify. First, to hedge against IPO delays or deteriorating offering conditions, we expect broader adoption of multi-route exit design encompassing M&A, secondaries, and secondary-share sales. Second, as capital concentrates in later-stage and strategic industries, bolt-on acquisitions and strategic-investor (SI) participation targeting companies with proven results and IPO-friendly governance should gain momentum. Third, as demand rises for integrated design of valuation, contract structure, and exit routes ahead of listing, capabilities in valuation and deal structuring are likely to become decisive for exit outcomes—for VCs, issuers, and acquirers alike.