MoneyJune 14, 2026
Korea Got Shut Out of the SpaceX IPO
Summary
SpaceX just had one of the biggest IPOs ever, closing up 19% on its first day and hitting a $2.1 trillion market cap. Korea's only underwriter in the deal, Mirae Asset Securities, didn't get a single share to allocate. So while the rest of the world's cashing in on Elon's rocket company, Korean investors are completely locked out.
Why do we peek
Koreans are obsessed with US tech stocks, and missing out on the SpaceX IPO feels like getting locked out of the party everyone else is at. It's not just about the money — it's about being cut off from a cultural moment that the rest of the investing world got to join. People are genuinely frustrated that Korea's top securities firm couldn't secure a single share for local investors.
Main Story
SpaceX went public on Friday and closed its first day up 19%, hitting a $2.1 trillion market cap — one of the biggest IPOs ever. Korea's only underwriter in the deal, Mirae Asset Securities, got zero shares to distribute. So while investors around the world are making money on Elon's rocket company, Korean investors didn't even get a shot.
Backstory
Korean retail investors are huge players in US markets — they buy and sell American stocks constantly through local brokerages. Getting shut out of a major IPO like this isn't common, but when it happens, it becomes national news because people here take their US stock portfolios seriously. Mirae Asset is one of Korea's biggest securities firms, so the fact that even they couldn't get shares shows how competitive this deal was.
FAQ
Can Koreans buy SpaceX stock now that it's public?
Yes, you can buy it on the secondary market through Korean brokerages that offer US stock trading, like Mirae Asset, Samsung Securities, or any app that lets you trade Nasdaq stocks. You just missed out on the IPO price — now you're buying at market price like everyone else.
Why didn't Mirae Asset get any shares?
They were technically part of the underwriting syndicate, but they were likely a junior member with no allocation power. The lead underwriters — Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs — control who gets shares, and Korean firms usually don't have enough clout in these mega US deals to secure allocations for their clients.
Is this a big deal in Korea?
Yeah, it's all over financial news and online investing communities. People feel like they got shut out of one of the biggest tech events of the year, and there's frustration that Korea's financial firms don't have more pull in global deals. It's not just about SpaceX — it's about feeling left behind.
#spacex #ipo #mirae asset #stock market #korea finance