K-beauty boom, TikTok buzz make skincare mogul a billionaire in South Korea
Behind the firm is 36-year-old Kim Byung-hoon, a tech entrepreneur-turned-beauty mogul whose company has made him
South Korea 's newest billionaire. His 31 per cent stake in APR is now worth about US$1.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after the firm's shares soared 200 per cent this year.
Kim started out dabbling in mobile apps, including a dating app, after studying in California as an exchange student over a decade ago. It was there that he first witnessed the smartphone revolution and got hooked on entrepreneurship.
His pivot to skincare came in 2014 when he launched APR, initially focused on cosmetics. In 2021, the business expanded into producing hi-tech facial devices that promise spa-like treatments at home. It is a product line that Kim personally evangelises – he uses APR's facial gadget for 30 minutes every day – APR's chief financial officer Shin Jae-ha said in an interview.
After going public last year, APR is now the second-largest publicly traded beauty firm in South Korea with a market capitalisation of more than US$4 billion.
Endorsements from top-tier influencers reflect the growing mainstream appeal of K-beauty, the umbrella term for South Korea's booming beauty exports. Once the domain of Gen Z or Asian-American influencers, they have gone mainstream in the US, where sales of South Korean beauty products jumped 56 per cent to US$1.9 billion last year.
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