Plutus Investment

GMI Venture (019570) is a KOSDAQ-listed financial company operating a new-technology business financing business under the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act.

The company changed its name from Leaders Technology Investment to Plutus Investment in April 2024, and then to GMI Venture in June 2026, with the chief executive changing from Eom Won-jin to Baek Sang-hyun.

Its core business consists of equity investment in new and existing shares (common and preferred stock) issued by new-technology enterprises, and bond investment through the acquisition of convertible bonds or bonds with warrants, alongside forming and managing new-technology business investment partnerships as a managing partner.

While the business resembles venture capital, its legal basis lies in the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act rather than the Venture Investment Promotion Act, and its main competitors are venture capital companies registered under the SME Startup Support Act.

More recently, the company has been observed liquidating part of its portfolio, including the sale of 15,288,575 shares of convertible bonds related to Gwangmu (a provisional company name) engaged in network equipment leasing and SI/NI business.

That sale was disclosed at a value of KRW 77 billion, and a separate large-holding change report noted an over-the-counter sale of 24.02 million shares of Gwangmu-related convertible bonds, reducing the holding by 54.6%. The company also disclosed completion of a capital reduction on June 23, 2026.

With the name change, leadership change, and portfolio restructuring occurring simultaneously, the business structure appears considerably more fluid than in the past.

Annual revenue rose for three consecutive years, from KRW 6.88 billion in 2022 to KRW 6.95 billion in 2023, KRW 10.34 billion in 2024, and KRW 12.89 billion in 2025.

Operating profit swung from large losses of KRW 17.27 billion in 2022 and KRW 10.31 billion in 2023 to a profit of KRW 1.27 billion in 2024, which then expanded to KRW 3.31 billion in 2025.

Net income attributable to owners followed a similar path, narrowing from losses of KRW 18.29 billion in 2022 and KRW 11.55 billion in 2023 to a small loss of KRW 0.21 billion in 2024, before turning to a profit of KRW 2.85 billion in 2025. Quarterly trends, however, were far from smooth.

From the second through fourth quarters of 2025, operating profit improved steadily to KRW 0.996 billion, KRW 1.168 billion, and KRW 1.466 billion respectively, but the first quarter of 2026 saw a sharp operating loss of KRW 3.05 billion and a net loss attributable to owners of KRW 3.13 billion.

Following that loss, the second quarter of 2026 rebounded with revenue of KRW 5.66 billion, operating profit of KRW 1.70 billion, and owners' net profit of KRW 1.26 billion.

An August 2026 report by Herald Economy noted that among 13 listed companies that recently changed their names, Polaris AI Handy, GMI Venture, and Aribio Holdings all swung from a profit in the fourth quarter of 2025 to a loss in the first quarter of 2026, corroborating the quarterly figures above.

Operating cash flow remained negative despite the return to net profit, at negative KRW 25.95 billion in 2024 and negative KRW 18.72 billion in 2025, suggesting that a meaningful portion of reported profit may stem from non-cash items such as fair-value gains on investment assets rather than actual cash inflows.

South Korea's new-technology business financing industry operates under the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act, comprehensively conducting investment and lending to new-technology enterprises and forming and managing new-technology business investment partnerships, forming one of two pillars of the domestic venture capital ecosystem alongside venture capital companies registered under the Venture Investment Promotion Act.

In 2026, the domestic venture investment market is assessed to have entered an expansion phase, driven by additional supply of policy funds such as the National Growth Fund, improved fund-formation conditions, and expectations of exit-market normalization.

Some analyses note that since the second half of 2025, the KOSDAQ IPO market has gradually normalized with a re-rating trend, and this listing momentum is expected to continue into 2026.

The Korea Financial Investment Association announced plans to pursue roughly KRW 1 trillion in secondary investments over the next three years to revitalize the venture exit market, combining individual investments led by seven mega investment banks with a joint fund involving the top 15 securities firms and the association itself.

This expansion of the secondary market is seen as complementing a domestic venture exit structure previously concentrated on IPOs, a potentially favorable environment for diversifying exit routes for new-technology financing companies.

However, industry observers note that actual cash recovery, measured through distributed-to-paid-in metrics, rather than paper gains, is becoming increasingly important, making the ability to realize investment performance and manage asset quality a key competitive factor.

Since renaming itself GMI Venture, the company has drawn market attention regarding its new business direction, though a concrete new-business pipeline or official guidance has not yet been confirmed.

According to a Herald Economy report, many recently renamed listed companies have pursued new businesses while still failing to secure profitability from their existing operations, making the market's focus less about the name change itself and more about whether the company actually possesses the capability to execute new businesses.

In GMI Venture's case, since the company returned to profit in the second quarter of 2026 following the first-quarter operating loss, whether this recovery continues in subsequent quarters is a primary item to monitor.

On the portfolio side, further disposals or conversion claims related to Gwangmu convertible bonds, and how the remaining balance of the 19th private-placement convertible bond issued in May 2024 (maturing May 31, 2027, with a conversion price of KRW 500) is handled, could affect the future balance sheet.

From an industry perspective, expanded policy funding and the securities industry's push into secondary investments are seen as an environment that could contribute to improved exit conditions across the new-technology business financing sector.

As the company continues restructuring its balance sheet through capital reduction and convertible bond sales, tracking new-business progress and changes in investment asset quality through upcoming regular disclosures and business reports will be important.