Biotech Aims for Profit in IPO Year; Hyosung Lands Record $540M U.S. Order

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Biotech Monetization: AimedBio (0009K0) posted operating profit of 20.6 billion won in its first year as a public company, demonstrating rapid monetization potential for drug developers. The domestic biotech industry is entering a full-scale profit generation phase, with analysts crediting the company's technology licensing contract structure and individual compound-focused strategy.

Global Orders: Hyosung Heavy Industries (298040) secured a 787 billion won ultra-high voltage transformer contract in the U.S. market, achieving the largest order in company history. Chairman Cho Hyun-joon's decision to acquire the Memphis plant for 440 billion won in 2020, despite internal concerns, proved prescient in capturing power infrastructure demand driven by AI data center expansion.

AI Agents: Naver and Kakao (035720) are conducting final preparations ahead of shopping AI agent launches in the first half, marking the full opening of Korea's agentic commerce era. Platform companies are accelerating aggressive investments as AI systems that autonomously perform product searches, comparisons, recommendations, and payments can simultaneously secure user lock-in effects and commerce ecosystem dominance.

1. Profit From IPO Year: 'Money-Making Drug Developers' on the Rise

AimedBio recorded revenue of 47.3 billion won and operating profit of 20.6 billion won last year, achieving profitability in its first year as a listed company. Revenue surged 302% year-over-year while the company swung from an operating loss of 400 million won to a 44% operating margin. The results reflect upfront payments and milestones from a 1.4 trillion won ADC technology licensing deal with Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim. Analysts credit the company's strategy of developing individual ADC candidates rather than platform technologies, maximizing compound value to secure larger contracts. As a Samsung Seoul Hospital spinoff, the company is projected to maintain profitability over the next five years.

2. Hyosung Heavy Industries Lands Largest U.S. Transformer Order; Cho's Investment Pays Off

Hyosung Heavy Industries signed a 787 billion won contract with a major U.S. transmission network operator for 765kV ultra-high voltage transformers and reactors, the largest single order in company history. The deal represents the biggest single project for any Korean power equipment company in the U.S., reflecting proactive positioning for surging power demand from AI data center expansion. Chairman Cho Hyun-joon decided to acquire the Memphis, Tennessee plant in 2020 despite internal concerns, investing 440 billion won to date. Hyosung Heavy Industries now holds the top market share in the U.S. 765kV ultra-high voltage transformer market, achieving record annual results last year with revenue of 5.97 trillion won and operating profit of 747 billion won.

3. Product Comparison to Payment: Naver, Kakao Shopping AI Coming First Half

Naver and Kakao are conducting final checks ahead of shopping AI agent launches targeted for the first half. Naver plans to roll out a shopping AI agent by month's end, followed by travel, finance, and other individual AI agents to be integrated into an 'AI Tab.' Kakao is continuously updating its language model ahead of the official launch of 'Kanana in KakaoTalk,' its AI agent service, targeting a first-quarter release. In the U.S., OpenAI introduced instant payment functionality to ChatGPT in September, while Google joined the trend last month by announcing collaboration with Walmart and others. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stated that "customers using AI agents are 60% more likely to make purchases than non-users," validating the monetization model.

4. Hanwha, KAI 'Defense-Space Alliance': First Project Targets Domestic Aviation Weapons

Hanwha Aerospace (012450) and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed a business cooperation agreement for aviation weapons at World Defense Show 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The companies will pursue integration of aviation weapons systems including long-range air-to-air missiles for domestic aircraft such as the KF-21 and FA-50, along with joint marketing. Hanwha Aerospace has conducted preliminary research led by the Agency for Defense Development on ducted solid ramjet engine-based long-range air-to-air and supersonic air-to-ground and air-to-ship missiles. The two companies signed a partnership on February 5 for major product development and commercial space market entry, planning to rapidly increase localization rates for materials, components, and equipment through supply chain sharing and joint R&D programs.

5. This Cosmetics Brand Sold Over 1.4 Trillion Won, Tripling Sales in One Year

APR (278470) announced that total annual sales for its Medicube brand exceeded 1.4 trillion won in 2025. In cosmetics, products including Zero Pore Pads and Collagen Night Wrapping Masks grew more than threefold year-over-year to surpass 1 trillion won, driven by combined use with beauty devices. The beauty device segment also exceeded 400 billion won in sales last year, representing approximately 100-fold growth since the 2021 launch. Overseas sales alone topped 1 trillion won, with the company focusing on U.S. market penetration through LA and New York pop-up stores and Times Square outdoor advertising. APR plans to expand its product portfolio this year with hair and body lines while accelerating global expansion into Europe and Southeast Asia.

6. 'Used Car King' K Car Posts Record 2.4 Trillion Won Revenue

K Car (381970) recorded consolidated revenue of 2.44 trillion won and operating profit of 76 billion won last year, up 6.0% and 11.5% year-over-year respectively, setting all-time highs. Sales volume increased 1.4% to 156,290 vehicles, expanding market share to 12.7%. The 'My Car' one-stop vehicle management platform launched last April surpassed 100,000 registered vehicles as of January, transforming the company from a sales-focused structure to a relationship platform covering the entire vehicle lifecycle. K Car plans to launch new businesses this year including C2C secure direct trading services supporting peer-to-peer transactions, evolving into a platform spanning all transaction types.