[Edaily Reporter Kwon Oh-seok] #Financial authorities have launched an investigation into the situation where the entire allocation of "SpaceX IPO shares" scheduled for Mirae Asset Securities was canceled. Mirae Asset Securities apologized to investors and refunded the full amount of their subscription deposits. However, it appears difficult to avoid the fallout, including damage to investor trust and the risk of regulatory sanctions.

According to the financial investment industry and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on the 15th, the FSS began an inspection of Mirae Asset Securities on the 5th of this month regarding the domestic sale of SpaceX IPO shares and recently upgraded it to a formal investigation. The FSS had been proactively examining whether Mirae Asset Securities properly complied with investor protection regulations during the process of accepting subscriptions for SpaceX IPO shares from individual and corporate professional investors.
Amid this situation, as the result was that not a single share was actually allocated, it is reported that the FSS is closely investigating the specific circumstances leading to the failure of the allocation and determining where responsibility lies. In particular, it is understood that the FSS plans to focus on whether relevant explanations and guidance were appropriate, with a view to assessing investor protection.
Originally, SpaceX had planned to allocate 2,314,815 shares to Mirae Asset Securities out of the 555,555,555 Class A common shares being sold in this offering. However, during the final allocation process, lead underwriter Goldman Sachs did not allocate any shares for domestic sales to the underwriting syndicate, including Mirae Asset Securities, resulting in zero shares being allocated to professional investors in Korea.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) plans to conduct a thorough investigation into the extent to which Mirae Asset Securities was aware of this possibility and whether it adequately explained the associated risks to investors during the subscription phase.
In response, Mirae Asset Securities issued a statement to investors explaining, “Although we participated as an underwriting syndicate in the SpaceX IPO and conducted a public offering subscription for domestic professional investors, no sellable shares were allocated during the lead underwriter’s final allocation process.” The firm further clarified, “The underwriting quantities listed in the SEC filings (Form S-1 and prospectus) refer only to the underwriting ratio and are distinct from the final allocated quantity actually available for sale to investors.”
Furthermore, the company elaborated that this IPO proceeded as specified in the prospectus, involving the underwriters’ acceptance of shares, fulfillment of all conditions, and the lead underwriter’s final allocation process, and that the actual sales volume allocated to each underwriter was determined at the sole discretion of the lead underwriter.
Mirae Asset Securities stated, “Considering this possibility, we provided advance notice through the prospectus and key information document that there might be no allocated shares.”
Furthermore, with allegations of conflicts of interest adding to the mix, the controversy appears to be escalating. As news spread that Mirae Asset Securities participated in the public offering using its own capital—separate from customer subscriptions—and received an allocation of SpaceX shares, it is highly likely that this matter will also be included in the Financial Supervisory Service’s (FSS) inspection process.
Mirae Asset Securities fully refunded the subscription deposits paid by investors in the early hours of the 13th (KST). Nevertheless, the FSS plans to examine whether investors incurred losses during the currency exchange, remittance, and refund processes, as well as who bore the burden of exchange rate fluctuations.
Meanwhile, on the first trading day following the news, Mirae Asset Securities’ stock price closed at 51,600 won, down 1.34% from the previous day, likely due to selling pressure from disappointed investors.