South Korea’s IPO market is seeing a renewed wave of institutional share flipping as investors increasingly avoid mandatory holding lockups and sell newly listed stocks immediately to secure short-term gains. A Korea Economic Daily analysis of 50 listings over the past year found that the share trading below its IPO price rose from 16.0% on listing day to 29.2% after one week, 37.8% after one month and 38.5% after three months. The average decline among stocks below their IPO prices widened from 23% on debut to 34% after three months. The institutional lockup ratio fell to 3.56% in the second half from 41.98% in the first half, while average demand-forecasting competition for seven offerings dropped to 420.8 to 1. The deterioration has compounded a broader IPO slowdown: first-half KOSDAQ proceeds fell to 634.7 billion won across 16 deals, the lowest since the first half of 2020, while the KOSPI recorded only one listing. The weakness is also reviving concerns about screening and venture-finance problems after Daejin Advanced Materials faced delisting grounds less than a year after its listing.