This article was published on April 17, 2025, at 4:01 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Due to poor performance, the web novel platform Munpia has delayed its listing but is now preparing to list on the KOSDAQ again. Munpia, which has Naver Webtoon as its largest shareholder, had high expectations for an IPO with investments from financial investors, but its performance had stagnated, delaying the listing timetable.
According to investment banking (IB) industry sources on the 17th, Munpia has recently selected NH Investment & Securities as its underwriter for the public offering (IPO) process. Now that a major task has been completed with the Nasdaq listing of its parent company Naver Webtoon last year, if performance supports it, Munpia is expected to accelerate the listing.
The trigger for Munpia's renewed IPO attempt is a rebound in performance. Last year, Munpia recorded sales and operating profit of 75 billion won and 4.6 billion won, respectively. The operating profit shrank to 2 billion won the previous year, but it doubled within a year, reigniting the spark for the initial public offering (IPO).
If Munpia goes for an IPO, a likely comparable company is D&C MEDIA. Established in 2022, D&C MEDIA is a web novel and webtoon content provider. Last year, it recorded an operating profit of 10.2 billion won, with a market capitalization of 233 billion won. Using a simple calculation of the price-to-earnings ratio (PER), Munpia's valuation could reach 100 billion won.
Munpia was founded by CEO Kim Hwan-cheol, who originally comes from the KITA genre, in 2012. Unlike other platforms, anyone can attempt to serialize content, and it is regarded as a gateway for web novel authors, having produced several successful intellectual properties (IPs). One notable example is 'The Youngest Son of a Conglomerate,' which has gained fame as a drama. Currently, the largest shareholder is Naver Webtoon, holding 57.78% equity. The second-largest shareholder is Premier Partners, a domestic private equity fund (PEF) management company.
In February 2022, Naver Webtoon became the largest shareholder by acquiring a 36.08% stake in Munpia for 108.2 billion won. This was achieved by exchanging approximately 90 billion won in cash, which was lent to Munpia’s shares. Earlier, Premier Partners acquired a 28% stake in Munpia for 85 billion won in 2021.
A source familiar with the situation at Munpia noted, “As short-form and other content continue to develop, it’s a challenging environment where we must compete for the limited time of individuals,” adding, “We expect to boost this year’s performance to enter KOSDAQ around next year.”
After listing, it is highly likely that private equity fund management company Premier Partners will consider selling its equity after the lock-up period. This is because it would be difficult to retain Munpia's equity indefinitely according to the fund's maturity schedule. As the largest shareholder, Naver Webtoon may sell some existing shares, but it is expected to maintain its status due to ownership of several webtoon and web novel subsidiaries.
Meanwhile, the web novel market size is gradually growing. According to the Korea Publishing and Cultural Industry Promotion Agency's survey on the current status of the web novel industry, released on the 16th, the estimated market size based on revenue from major web novel platforms was approximately 1.35 trillion won last year. This figure represents an increase of 311 billion won from 1.39 trillion won in 2022.