Underdogs , a social enterprise certified by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, successfully completed a pre-IPO (pre-listing investment attraction) worth 9 billion won in January and will be the first domestic certified social enterprise to be listed on the KOSDAQ market in early 2026.
A total of six investment companies, including SV Investment, IMM Investment, Positive Investment, and TKG Ventures, participated in this round of investment and highly evaluated Underdogs’ potential to grow into an ESG comprehensive solution company in the Asian market.
Underdogs, which selected Mirae Asset Securities as the lead manager for its listing in December 2023, is aiming to be listed on the KOSDAQ market in the first quarter of 2026. Since its establishment, Underdogs has recorded an average annual growth of 70% for nine years without external investment, and exceeded KRW 20 billion in sales in 2024. It has been realizing both economic performance and social value by presenting various solutions to solve social problems in cooperation with companies and the government. This pre-IPO is drawing attention from the industry as it presents a new growth model for social enterprises based on these achievements.
Founded in 2015, Underdogs has grown into a one-stop solution company that covers everything from ESG strategy formulation to implementation, value measurement, and evaluation. Currently, it provides various customized ESG services to companies and government agencies, including entrepreneurship education solutions for regional activation and job creation, regional activation MICE operation, small business marketing support, and ESG measurement, evaluation, and reporting.
Through this investment, Underdogs plans to accelerate business expansion by ▲entering the ESG market in key Asian regions by establishing local corporations in Japan and India, ▲strengthening global entrepreneurship education solutions by enhancing its own LMS platform based on generative AI, ▲launching education solutions to eliminate the digital divide for children and adolescents, and ▲expanding evaluation solutions specialized in each ESG field.
SV Investment Managing Director Jung Joo-wan, who participated in this investment, said, “Underdogs is a leading domestic ESG comprehensive solution company and is a unique company that has grown on its own without external investment since its establishment.” He added, “We participated in this round because we believed it is the only company that can continuously open up new markets and suggest directions for the social sector.”
IMM Investment Director Oh Yoon-jong said, “Underdogs has built unrivaled competitiveness in the market through the abundant cases and data accumulated through cooperation with various companies in the domestic ESG market.” He added, “In particular, we have been leading the measurement and implementation of ESG performance and presenting a trustworthy benchmark by cooperating with approximately 400 domestic companies, organizations, and universities, including SK Group, Hana Financial Group, Naver, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.”
Underdogs CEO Kim Jeong-heon said, “This pre-IPO will be a new turning point for Korean social enterprises,” and added, “We will successfully list on KOSDAQ in 2026 and establish ourselves as a leading company in the Asian ESG market.”
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