On June 12, 2026, the world watched as SpaceX, Elon Musk’s renowned aerospace company, made its much-anticipated debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The event was nothing short of historic: by the end of its first trading day, SpaceX shares closed at $161.11, up 19.34% from the initial public offering (IPO) price of $135. The IPO raised a staggering $75 billion, marking the largest offering of its kind—ever. Yet, amid the global fanfare and the electric atmosphere on Wall Street, a peculiar disappointment unfolded thousands of miles away in South Korea, leaving many domestic investors bewildered and frustrated.
Mirae Asset Securities, one of Korea’s leading brokerage firms and a participant in SpaceX’s underwriting group, had been slated to receive a healthy chunk of the IPO: 2,314,815 shares of Class A common stock. For weeks, anticipation had been building among Korean investors, both institutional and individual, who lined up to take part in what many believed would be a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Mirae Asset organized two rounds of subscription—one on June 5 and another on June 8—with minimum participation set at $100,000 and a maximum at $3 million. The response was nothing short of frenzied: both rounds sold out within minutes, reflecting the feverish demand for a slice of SpaceX’s future.
But when the dust settled after SpaceX’s Nasdaq debut, Mirae Asset Securities found itself empty-handed. Not a single share was allocated to the Korean brokerage. According to Yonhap Infomax and Energy Economy News, the lead underwriter, Goldman Sachs, made a last-minute decision to reallocate shares, citing an overwhelming surge in institutional demand following the listing. As a result, Mirae Asset’s entire expected allocation vanished in the final distribution. The disappointment was palpable, and the impact rippled swiftly through Korea’s financial community.
“In the final decision process by the lead underwriter, the shares originally allocated to us disappeared,” a Mirae Asset Securities spokesperson said, as reported by Yonhap News. “We apologize for the inconvenience caused to customers who waited for the IPO results.” The firm moved quickly to refund all subscription deposits to domestic individual, corporate professional, and institutional investors in the early hours of June 13. The total target subscription amount had been $500 million—a testament to the scale of investor interest that ultimately went unfulfilled.
The unexpected zero-allocation created a domino effect, upending plans for major Korean asset managers. Both Korea Investment Management and Mirae Asset Asset Management had intended to include SpaceX shares in their flagship exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Korea Investment Management had planned to distribute the shares to its ‘ACE US Space Tech Active ETF’ and ‘Korea Investment Global Space Technology & Defense Fund,’ while Mirae Asset Asset Management eyed inclusion in the ‘TIGER Global AI Active ETF’ and ‘TIGER Global AI Power Infrastructure Active ETF.’ But with Mirae Asset Securities receiving no shares, these plans were abruptly scrapped. Korea Investment Management, in a public notice, admitted, “Even considering the volatility of the US IPO market, it was our clear mistake and responsibility to raise excessive expectations and engage in marketing before allocations were confirmed.”
Still, not all hope was lost for Korean funds eager to ride the SpaceX wave. Korea Investment Management managed to purchase a small quantity of SpaceX shares through intraday trading on the first day of listing, although the size of the acquisition remains undisclosed. Mirae Asset Asset Management, which operates passive ETFs, announced plans to include SpaceX shares two trading days after the listing, in line with standard settlement procedures.
The shock of the zero allocation drew the attention of Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), which promptly launched an investigation to determine why Mirae Asset Securities—despite its role in the underwriting group and its efforts to raise $500 million—received nothing. An FSS official told Yonhap Infomax, “Mirae Asset raised funds of about $500 million but did not receive a single share. It’s necessary to clarify the circumstances. For now, we are conducting a basic review.” The intricacies of the IPO process were laid bare: while the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings specify an underwriting commitment, the actual allocation to investors is left to the final discretion of the lead underwriter, in this case, Goldman Sachs. This distinction proved costly for Mirae Asset and its clients.
“Each underwriter’s final allocation is determined at the sole discretion of the lead underwriter,” a Mirae Asset Securities representative reiterated, according to Yonhap News. “In this process, our allocation disappeared, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience to our customers. We will continue to do our best to protect investors and provide stable services.”
The numbers behind SpaceX’s IPO tell a story of extraordinary demand. According to Energy Economy News, total subscription orders reached $350 billion, with $250 billion from institutional investors and $100 billion from individual investors. The company’s market capitalization soared to $2.1 trillion, making it the seventh-largest publicly listed company globally, trailing only giants like Nvidia, Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Taiwan’s TSMC. During intraday trading, SpaceX shares even touched $176.52 before settling at $161.11. The sheer scale of the IPO and the fervor it generated left little room for smaller players, especially those outside the U.S.
The fallout was immediate and widespread. Domestic asset managers scrambled to adjust their investment strategies, and individual investors who had hoped to participate via Mirae Asset found themselves back at square one, their refunded deposits a cold comfort. The episode also sparked a broader conversation in Korea about the risks and realities of participating in high-profile U.S. IPOs through international underwriting groups. While the allure of global tech giants is undeniable, the final say often rests firmly with Wall Street’s biggest players.
As the FSS continues its review and Korean investors regroup, the SpaceX IPO will likely be remembered not just for its record-breaking numbers but also for the hard lessons it delivered about the unpredictability of global finance. For now, Mirae Asset Securities and its clients are left to reflect on a rare miss in an otherwise historic moment for the world’s most ambitious space company.