"Orders Surge Ahead of Listing"... Baek Jong-won's Company Also Smiles at the Popularity of 'Heukbaek Chef'

The Born Korea, Strong Demand from Institutional Investors
Aiming for KOSPI Listing Next Month
"'Heukbaek Chef' Success Acts as a Positive Factor"

Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea, appeared as a judge on Netflix's "Black and White Chef: Culinary Class War."
[Source=Yonhap News]

The Netflix variety show "Black and White Chef: Cooking Class War (Black and White Chef)" has gained great popularity, and The Born Korea, led by CEO Baek Jong-won who appeared as a judge, is also attracting attention in the demand forecast.

According to the financial investment industry on the 24th, The Born Korea has been conducting a demand forecast targeting institutional investors from the 18th until today, and the final public offering price will be confirmed the next day. It is known that most institutional investors participating in the demand forecast submitted prices higher than the upper limit of the expected public offering price range (23,000 to 28,000 KRW). The industry analyzes that the public offering price could rise up to 37,000 KRW.

Based on the results of the institutional investors' demand forecast, The Born Korea will finalize the public offering price and then conduct subscription for general investors over two days on the 28th and 29th. The total number of shares offered is 3 million, of which 600,000 shares (20% of the public offering shares) are allocated to the employee stock ownership association, and the remaining 2.4 million shares will be sold to investors through the general public offering. The Born Korea aims to be listed on the KOSPI next month.

There is also an analysis that the popularity of "Black and White Chef" contributed to the strong demand from institutional investors for The Born Korea. "Black and White Chef" ranked first in the non-English domestic TV series category on Netflix upon release and entered the top 10 in Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other regions, gaining global popularity. As CEO Baek appeared as a judge, his rising public attention also increased interest in The Born Korea's IPO.

Meanwhile, a recent investment fraud case impersonating CEO Baek occurred, prompting police investigation. On the 22nd, the Mapo Police Station in Seoul announced that they had received a complaint against an unidentified suspect A, accused of fraud, and are conducting an investigation. It is known that A impersonated CEO Baek by copying the company introduction from The Born Korea's official website, encouraged investors to secure profits in advance through pre-IPO equity investment, collected investment funds, and then disappeared.