Korea Exchange rejects Kyobo Life IPO application

The reason for the denial is discord amongst major shareholders.

Kyobo Life’s request to launch an initial public offering (IPO) was denied by the Korea Exchange, citing discord amongst major shareholders.

The failure to gain approval for the IPO was attributed to opposition from key shareholder Affinity Equity Partner, which has been in a legal dispute with Kyobo Life over Affinity’s exercises of put option in 2018. The two has been in dispute since then.

Kyobo Life has been seeking to launch an IPO in the first half of the year to diversify its funding sources in the preparation for the new accounting rule for insurance products in 2023.