Hancom WITH

Hancom WITH began as a security solutions company built on public key infrastructure (PKI) and cryptographic technology, offering products such as the integrated simple authentication solution AnySign Lite+, the authentication relay service WithUs, the AI-based facial recognition solution Hancom OS, and the FIDO-based biometric authentication solution Hancom Pass.

In data security, it supplies the integrated data encryption solution Hancom XDB, which incorporates post-quantum cryptography, and the communication-channel encryption solution Hancom XConnect.

However, the vast majority of the company's current revenue does not come from the security business but from the gold distribution operations of Hancom Gold Exchange, acquired in 2020, with multiple media reports confirming that gold-related sales account for roughly 97 to 98 percent of total revenue.

Hancom Gold Exchange was reclassified from an associate to a subsidiary in 2023 after the ownership stake rose to 54.64 percent, a point after which consolidated revenue expanded sharply.

More recently, the company has entered the real-world asset (RWA) business through its affiliate Arowana Hub, which issues a gold-pegged stablecoin called the Arowana Gold Token (AGT), and has separately launched a gold tokenization platform named Ontorium along with an on-chain financial service called AQUA in global markets.

In the competitive landscape, firms such as Penta Security, Dream Security, and X-Gate are cited as rivals in similar technology segments, and as a Hancom Group affiliate, the company is seen as having cross-selling opportunities through Hancom Office's corporate customer base.

Reports have also emerged that Hancom WITH is acquiring additional shares in Hancom Inc. to bring it under consolidation, a move interpreted as an effort to reduce the company's heavy dependence on gold exchange earnings.

Taken together, Hancom WITH is in the process of reshaping itself into a three-pronged structure combining a core security business, a large gold-distribution revenue stream, and emerging RWA and stablecoin ventures.

Consolidated revenue in 2025 reached KRW 771.2 billion, sharply up from KRW 448.2 billion in 2024, while operating profit improved substantially to KRW 6.09 billion from KRW 1.28 billion in 2024.

Still, the operating margin was only 0.8 percent, indicating that profitability remains thin relative to the scale of revenue. Owner net profit turned positive at KRW 7.84 billion in 2025, reversing a loss of KRW 3.82 billion in 2024.

In 2023, the company posted revenue of KRW 410.1 billion and an operating loss of KRW 2.46 billion, yet still recorded a small owner net profit of KRW 0.90 billion, highlighting a recurring pattern in which operating and net results diverge.

In 2022 as well, revenue was only KRW 28.7 billion, but owner net profit reached KRW 6.81 billion, suggesting that non-operating factors have had a considerable impact on the bottom line.

On a quarterly basis, the fourth quarter of 2025 saw revenue of KRW 274.0 billion and operating profit of KRW 1.95 billion, yet owner net profit was a loss of KRW 2.82 billion; conversely, the second quarter of 2026 recorded revenue of KRW 99.8 billion and an operating loss of KRW 0.71 billion, while owner net profit surged to KRW 7.10 billion, an opposite pattern.

The first quarter of 2026 was comparatively stable, with revenue of KRW 166.0 billion, a slim operating profit of KRW 0.06 billion, and owner net profit of KRW 1.14 billion.

This quarter-to-quarter volatility reflects the significant influence of gold price and purchase cost movements, as well as non-operating items such as equity-method gains, on net income.

On the balance sheet side, the debt ratio rose to 67.3 percent at the end of 2025 from 54.2 percent in 2024, and while operating cash flow was a healthy KRW 6.5 billion in 2025, it was negative at KRW -4.8 billion in 2023, underscoring year-to-year variability in cash generation as well.

In the domestic security software industry, demand for post-quantum cryptography (PQC) transition is gaining attention as discussions around commercial quantum computing spread, and the government is reportedly pursuing a roadmap to gradually apply PQC to national infrastructure.

Hancom WITH holds a PQC module verified by the National Intelligence Service and has commercialized it in its data and communication encryption products, positioning it to respond to related policy demand, though competitors such as Penta Security, Dream Security, and X-Gate operate in similar segments, meaning the market is not a single-player monopoly.

Meanwhile, in the gold distribution and real-world asset (RWA) market, other IT firms such as ITCEN Global are pursuing similar business models through gold exchange acquisitions and platform development, expanding competition to secure digital asset infrastructure early.

In Korea, discussions on institutionalizing stablecoins and security token offerings (STOs) continue, but legislation has not yet been finalized, leaving the timing of monetization and the regulatory framework for such businesses uncertain.

Several media reports have noted that, given the nature of the gold distribution business, rising international gold prices expand revenue in nominal terms but can weigh on profitability due to higher purchase costs and limited sales margins.

Overall, Hancom WITH sits across three distinct industry environments simultaneously: policy tailwinds expected in traditional security software, a commodity-price-linked cycle characteristic of gold distribution, and an emerging RWA market where regulation has not yet been fully settled.

The company stated it would unveil a gold-backed digital asset trading platform in the first quarter of 2026, and it did launch the gold tokenization platform Ontorium along with the on-chain financial service AQUA on April 21.

Ontorium issues a stablecoin called OXAU backed by gold certified by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), while AQUA provides on-chain financial services such as deposits and loans using OXAU as collateral.

In the security segment, the company said it is pursuing a diversified next-generation product lineup including a 'seamless authentication' technology that identifies users without additional action, an AI-based deepfake detection solution called Hancom OS Liveness, and a voice authentication solution.

On the governance front, reports indicate that Hancom WITH is in the process of acquiring additional shares in Hancom Inc. to bring it under consolidation, which the market expects could expand consolidated revenue into the trillion-won range and partially ease earnings volatility tied to dependence on the gold exchange business.

Separately, Hancom Inc. was reported to have set a standalone 2026 guidance of KRW 210 billion in revenue and KRW 60 billion in operating profit, a target not yet fully reflected in Hancom WITH's consolidated results and one that will need confirmation alongside the timing of consolidation.

The RWA and stablecoin business is tied to ongoing domestic legislative discussions, meaning the pace of future legislation is likely to be a major factor in how quickly the business can expand.

Whether these various new-business initiatives translate into meaningful revenue and profit contributions relative to the core security and gold distribution operations remains at an early stage, and concrete results will need to be confirmed through disclosures in coming quarters.