Soomvi, Dreaming of Becoming 'Korea's First Listed Drone Company,' Sees a 60% Plunge in Employees and Goes Up for Sale in M&A Market..

Aviation tech company Soomvi, which knocked on the doors of the KOSDAQ market with the goal of becoming 'Korea's first listed defense drone company,' has ultimately set out to attract investment, including the sale of its management rights, unable to overcome a severe financial crisis and the aftermath of its IPO withdrawal.

Once riding high while being heavily courted by government agencies and major defense conglomerates, Soomvi has fallen into a swamp of capital impairment and an exodus of personnel.

■ A Splendid Flight: Unrivaled Technological Prowess, Collaboration with Government and Conglomerates, and Large-Scale Pre-IPO Success

Soomvi was initially a company that garnered high market expectations by focusing on the commercialization of Personal Air Vehicles (PAV), which are Urban Air Mobility (UAM) aircraft, and 100kg-class Cargo Air Vehicles (CAV) using purely proprietary technology. In particular, it successfully completed 100 PAV test flights in Jawol-do, Ongjin-gun, Incheon in 2022, and received a 'success verdict' for its core flight control system and motor technologies from the Agency for Defense Development (ADD). In recognition of these contributions, CEO Oh In-seon received a commendation from the Minister of Science and ICT, externally proving the company's technological prowess.

Collaboration with major defense conglomerates was also active. In 2023, after registering as a tier-1 supplier for Hanwha Systems, it achieved significant milestones such as signing an agreement with Hanwha Aerospace to jointly develop an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to be mounted on CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) reconnaissance vehicles.

In the pre-IPO (pre-listing equity investment) conducted ahead of its listing, it successfully attracted a total investment of 8 billion won from eight institutions, including LIG Nex1 (through a defense innovation fund jointly established with the Military Mutual Aid Association and IBK Capital) and SolidX, drawing the market's attention. According to PitchDeck data, Soomvi has received over 56 billion won in cumulative investments since its founding, and its corporate value during the recent pre-IPO was reportedly evaluated at approximately 84 billion won.

■ Broken Wings: Stricter Exchange Thresholds and Voluntary Withdrawal of Preliminary Listing Examination

Soomvi, which seemed to be walking a smooth path, experienced a fatal setback at the threshold of entering the stock market. After securing special listing requirements by receiving technology evaluation grades of 'A' and 'BBB' from two specialized evaluation agencies, Soomvi selected Kiwoom Securities as its listing underwriter and filed for a preliminary examination for a KOSDAQ listing in January 2025.

However, during the review process, issues such as a lack of revenue visibility and order backlog track records were brought to the fore. Although its technological prowess was recognized, it failed to overcome the Korea Exchange's criticism that its business performance capable of generating short-term profits was insufficient. Ultimately, in April 2025, just three months after filing for the preliminary examination, Soomvi voluntarily withdrew the listing process and announced its position to revise its strategy to a 'Second-mover' approach and pursue the listing again.

■ Looming Liquidity Crisis: Facing the Limits of Snowballing Deficits and "Going Concern Uncertainty," Employee Numbers Plummet by 60%

More painful than the listing withdrawal is its worsening financial condition. Compared to five years ago in 2019, when it had a revenue of 720 million won and an operating loss of 2.8 billion won, its revenue in 2024 only rose to the level of 2.7 billion won, but its operating loss recorded 6.9 billion won.

As the burden of massive research and development (R&D) costs for new military and UAM businesses continued, large-scale accumulated deficits occurred, ultimately leading to a state of 'capital impairment' where total equity became negative. Under these circumstances, Induk Accounting Corporation, which conducted the external audit, raised 'significant doubts about the entity's ability to continue as a going concern' in its audit opinion as total liabilities exceeded total equity at the end of 2024. The financial liquidity risk and operational continuity risk were officially confirmed.

In addition to this, the number of employees, which had maintained an average of 55 in 2024, plummeted to 22 by the end of 2025 due to a halt in new hiring and a continuous stream of departing staff starting in 2025. This is somewhat far from the typical moves of companies preparing for a listing, which usually increase their workforce for purposes such as internal controls and preparing for new businesses.

■ Is the Breakthrough a Sale of Management Rights? Effectively Up for Sale in the M&A Market

Although it publicly declared a re-attempt at listing on the KOSDAQ, Soomvi, for whom immediate survival has become urgent, is understood to have ultimately pulled out its last card: a 'sale.'

According to the investment banking (IB) industry, Soomvi has recently been in contact with domestic accounting firms and is pushing to attract new investments of up to 30 billion won. For the transaction structure, a method combining the issuance of new shares through a paid-in capital increase and the sale of old shares by existing shareholders, including the current largest shareholder, CEO Oh In-seon (who holds about 25% of common shares), is strongly being discussed.

The market interprets this not as simple fundraising or an extension of the pre-IPO, but effectively as an M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) procedure predicated on the transfer of management rights. This is because, without a large-scale injection of additional capital, not only R&D and business expansion but even the company's very survival is uncertain. However, since Soomvi has received a lot of external investment, even if it proceeds with an M&A, the issue of coordinating the opinions of institutional investors with various conflicting interests remains, making it difficult to reach a decision in the short term.

Soomvi missed the shining title of 'Korea's first listed drone company' right before its eyes. The industry's attention is focused on whether it can welcome a new owner, secure financial stability, and reignite the spark of revival through the 'sale of management rights' card it chose at the edge of a cliff.