Korean IPOs can attract intense attention on their first trading day. The first-day jump is worth studying, but it is only one part of the relationship between private-company value, IPO pricing and the public market.

Four years of first-day returns

Financial Supervisory Service annual reports put the average return from the IPO offer price to the first-day closing price at 28% in 2022, 72% in 2023, 42% in 2024 and 75% in 2025. These are full-year figures for the IPO samples covered by those reports. [1–3]

The purchase-price reference is always the IPO offer price. We use the first-day closing price as the endpoint, rather than the opening price. This keeps the homepage comparison consistent across the four years.

The comparison also spans a change in trading rules: listing-day price limits widened in June 2023. Differences between years therefore reflect market conditions, the companies that listed and the trading framework—not simply an improvement in business quality.

The first day and the next three months

Average returns versus IPO offer price (%). Navy shows the first-day close; crimson shows the price three months after listing.

2024 IPOs: +42% at the first-day close; −12% three months after listing.
2025 IPOs: +75% at the first-day close; +27% three months after listing.

Source: Korea Capital Market Institute, citing the Financial Supervisory Service. Both measurements start at the IPO offer price. The three-month figures are not returns measured from the first-day close. They are also not calendar year-end returns. [4]

Why the initial jump can fade

An IPO introduces new demand, while only part of a company’s shares may be available to trade. A limited tradable float can amplify early price movements. As trading develops and more supply becomes available, the first-day price may prove difficult to sustain. KCMI research examines the role of tradable-share restrictions in early IPO pricing. [5]

The comparison above illustrates why the first-day headline should be read alongside later performance. An average also conceals substantial differences between individual companies; it does not describe the likely return on a particular unicorn or large-cap listing.

What this means before an IPO

A private investor’s return begins at the price actually paid for the shares, which can differ substantially from the eventual IPO offer price. Share class, dilution, transfer restrictions and lock-ups affect the outcome. A first-day quoted price may not be available to a shareholder who cannot sell then.

We therefore treat the IPO jump as a reason to study a company more closely—not as a forecast of pre-IPO investment returns. Our questions are practical: What supports the valuation? What rights attach to the shares? How much dilution could occur? When could a shareholder realistically exit?

How to read the figures

Each return compares the relevant share price with the IPO offer price: (price ÷ offer price − 1) × 100. Annual first-day figures are reported averages, rounded to whole percentages by the FSS. They are not annualised returns or a backtested investment strategy. The 2024–2025 three-month comparison is reproduced from KCMI; we have not filled in unverified three-month values for 2022 or 2023.

We use the FSS annual series consistently rather than combining it with broker estimates, opening-price returns or incomplete-year samples. The chart describes Korea’s IPO market; it does not establish that all Korean private companies are undervalued.

References

[1] Financial Supervisory Service — 2023 IPO market analysis, released 27 February 2024. Includes the 2022 and 2023 first-day closing returns.

[2] Financial Supervisory Service — 2024 IPO market analysis, released 18 February 2025.

[3] Financial Supervisory Service — 2025 IPO market review, published by KDI, 5 March 2026.

[4] Korea Capital Market Institute — 코너스톤투자자 제도의 도입과 과제, 24 August 2026. Source for the first-day versus three-month comparison.

[5] Korea Capital Market Institute — 코로나19 이후 국내 IPO 시장 투자자의 정보 가치 변화분석, 16 December 2024.

For general information only. Historical returns do not predict future results. This article is not an offer or a personal investment recommendation.