[Edaily Marketin, Reporter YunJi Kim ] “Via Inkino,” a furniture and lifestyle startup backed by Musinsa Partners, has filed for simplified reorganization with the court. This comes about a year after the company began expanding its business, having garnered attention last year as Musinsa Partners’ first investment in the home and living sector. At the time, Via Inkino announced plans to use the investment as a springboard to strengthen its domestic operations and expand into overseas markets; however, its application for simplified rehabilitation just over a year later has put the brakes on its business expansion.

According to investment banking (IB) industry sources and others on the 26th, Via Inkino recently filed a petition with the Seoul Rehabilitation Court to initiate simplified rehabilitation proceedings. Simplified rehabilitation is a system through which companies facing difficulties in repaying debts can restructure their obligations through the court; it can be applied for when there is concern that future debt repayments could disrupt business operations.

The Seoul Rehabilitation Court, which accepted Via Inkino’s rehabilitation application, has issued a comprehensive injunction (a measure restricting creditors’ individual debt collection activities while the court determines whether to commence rehabilitation proceedings). Consequently, creditors are prohibited from conducting enforcement actions, provisional seizures, provisional dispositions, or auctions to enforce security interests against Via Inkino’s assets.

Via Inkino, a design and lifestyle company founded in 2014, operates the premium furniture brand “Wikino” and the specialty coffee brand “The Van Berlin,” among others. Last year, it attracted attention from the investment community by securing strategic investment from Musinsa Partners.

This was no surprise, as Via Inkino marked the first time Musinsa Partners—which had primarily invested in domestic fashion brands—had invested in the home and living sector. Musinsa Partners, which was expanding its investment scope from fashion to the broader lifestyle sector, expected to generate synergies with its existing businesses by leveraging Via Inkino’s furniture brands and distribution infrastructure.

However, Via Inkino’s financial performance had been on a downward trend even before Musinsa Partners’ investment. According to corporate information provider NICE D&B and others, Via Inkino’s revenue declined from approximately 10.6 billion won in 2022 to approximately 9.14 billion won in 2023 and approximately 8.94 billion won in 2024. Operating profit also fluctuated, rising from approximately 500 million won in 2022 to a loss of approximately 530 million won in 2023, before returning to a profit of approximately 190 million won in 2024. The decline in revenue continued even last year, when Musinsa Partners made its investment. In 2025, revenue fell to approximately 7.49 billion won—a 16% year-over-year decrease—and net income shifted from a surplus of about 30 million won to a deficit of approximately 490 million won.

Even at the time Musinsa Partners decided to invest, Via Inkino’s revenue was already on a downward trend. However, it is believed that Musinsa Partners judged there was room for performance improvement, given that Via Inkino had secured its own brand and distribution infrastructure, and its operating profit had returned to the black in 2024. The capital market views the investment as reflecting expectations that combining Musinsa Partners’ distribution network with Via Inkino’s brand competitiveness would revive the company’s growth momentum.

Via Inkino also announced plans at the time to expand its domestic and international operations following the investment. The company envisioned opening Wikino’s first flagship store in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, and expanding the showrooms and multi-cultural spaces it operated domestically to Asia and Europe. Prior to securing the investment, the company also made efforts to strengthen its brand competitiveness, such as appointing artist Lee Kwang-ho—who had a track record of collaborating with global luxury brands—as creative director.

However, just over a year after announcing these business expansion plans, Via Inkino filed for simplified rehabilitation, drawing attention to how funds were managed and operations were conducted following the investment. A capital markets official stated, “There are cases where companies end up in rehabilitation because the investment funds were used to repay existing debts, leading to a shortage of funds needed for actual business operations, or because anticipated follow-up investments and business partnerships failed to materialize.” The official added, “Especially in cases where rehabilitation proceedings are initiated within a short period, it is crucial to examine how the funds were used after the investment and to what extent the originally anticipated business plan was implemented.”

Meanwhile, whether Via Inkino will be able to normalize its operations in the future is expected to depend on the court’s decision to initiate rehabilitation proceedings and subsequent developments. Once rehabilitation proceedings begin, the company will proceed with developing debt restructuring plans and measures to normalize business operations.