South Korean retail investors received zero shares in the initial public offering of SpaceX [6].

The exclusion marks a significant blow to local investors who sought entry into one of the largest public offerings in history. While investors in the U.S., UK, and Japan received allocations, the Korean market was entirely shut out during the final distribution phase.

SpaceX set the IPO price at $135 per share on May 11, 2024 [1]. The company initially offered 555,556,000 shares [2], which raised approximately $75 billion, or about ₩114 trillion [3]. Following a green-shoe option, the final number of shares offered rose to 638,889,000 [4], bringing the total capital raised to $85.7 billion, or approximately ₩130 trillion [5].

Bloomberg reported the zero-allocation status for Korean investors on May 16, 2024 [1]. The process was managed by underwriters, including Mirae Asset Securities, which handled the allocation for South Korea.

According to the reports, Mirae Asset Securities had an allotted share pool intended for Korean investors. However, that pool was fully cut during the final allocation stage. This resulted in no shares being distributed to the retail investors who had applied through the broker [1].

The outcome has drawn comparisons to the experience of Japanese retail investors, who were able to secure shares in the offering. The disparity highlights the volatility of international IPO allocations, where final distribution is often decided by the lead underwriters and the issuing company regardless of initial demand.

“South Korean retail investors received zero shares in the initial public offering of SpaceX”

This incident underscores the high risk and lack of transparency inherent in global IPO 'allotment' processes. When a company is heavily oversubscribed, underwriters may drastically reduce or eliminate allocations to specific regions to satisfy larger institutional demands in other markets. For Korean retail investors, this represents a failure of local brokerage leverage during a historic financial event.