Gentle Monster operator IICOMBINED’s valuation tops 3 trn won

(Gentle Monster)

IICOMBINED, the operator of Gentle Monster eyewear, saw its corporate valuation hit 3 trillion won ($2.3 billion) thanks to the global popularity of the “Jennie sunglasses” line and strong profitability. Founder and CEO Kim Han-kook has also joined the ranks of billion-dollar stockholders in Korea’s fashion and beauty industry.

According to investment banking sources on Tuesday, a group of existing shareholders, including a Chinese venture capital firm, sold around 1.94 percent of their stake in August 2025 for $46.7 million (650 billion won). The buyer was reported to be Chinese private equity firm ZWC Partners and the transaction valued IICOMBINED at roughly 3.35 trillion won.

Google, which has partnered with Gentle Monster on smart glasses, is also said to be considering a new equity investment via share issuance, with discussions reportedly based on a valuation in the 3 trillion won range.

Financial results highlight the company’s rapid rise. Consolidated sales totaled 789.1 billion won in 2024, up 29.7 percent from the previous year, while operating profit soared 54.7 percent to 233.8 billion won, reflecting an industry-leading margin of 29.6 percent. Eyewear, led by Gentle Monster, accounted for 78 percent of revenue although cosmetics brand Tamburins also showed striking growth, surging from 3.4 billion won in 2019 to 164.6 billion won in 2023 - a 50-fold increase.

IICOMBINED has further diversified into food and lifestyle products, including dessert brand Nudake, hat label ATiiSSU, and kitchenware line Haus Nowhere. Overseas sales momentum has also strengthened: while China revenue slipped slightly to 120.7 billion won in 2024, ex-China overseas sales nearly doubled to 183 billion won.

The shareholder base has grown increasingly global. Luxottica, the world’s largest eyewear manufacturer and the distributor behind brands such as Oakley and Ray-Ban, became a significant shareholder after acquiring secondary shares in 2023 alongside L Catterton, the private equity arm of luxury group LVMH, and China’s IDG Capital. IICOMBINED was valued in the upper-1 trillion won range at that time, meaning its worth has nearly doubled in just two years.

Founded in 2011 by Korea University graduate Kim Han-kook, who was born in 1981, IICOMBINED remains majority-owned by its founder, who holds a 25.18 percent stake. Kim’s equity is now close to 1 trillion won with this latest valuation, cementing his status as one of the new wealth leaders in Korea’s fashion and beauty sector alongside APR CEO Kim Byung-hoon, a Yonsei University graduate who was born in 1988.