In a significant development within Korea’s beauty technology sector, APR has moved past Amorepacific to claim the position of the leading cosmetics company by market capitalization. This milestone comes after APR's previous leap over LG Household & Health Care. This change highlights the current challenges faced by the former dominant players in the “Big Two” of K-beauty, while APR emerges as a formidable new competitor.

As reported by the Korea Exchange on the 6th, shares of APR experienced a notable increase of ₩27,200, equivalent to a 14.52% rise, reaching ₩214,500 by 9:40 a.m. This surge briefly peaked at a record high of ₩220,000 following the announcement of more robust-than-expected second-quarter earnings. At these levels, APR’s market capitalization is approximately ₩8.16 trillion.

Established in 2014, APR owns a variety of beauty brands, including Aprilskin and Forment, in addition to MediCube, a rapidly expanding home beauty device brand. The company’s significant earnings growth has been fueled by strong exports to the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. To bolster its global marketing efforts, APR recently appointed IVE’s Jang Won-young as the new ambassador for its MediCube Age-R line, succeeding actress Kim Hee-sun.

APR entered the public market on February 27, 2023, with shares opening at ₩317,500 each, marking a 27% increase from its initial public offering price of ₩250,000. At this time, its market capitalization was valued at ₩2.41 trillion.

On June 23 of the current year, APR's market valuation exceeded that of LG Household & Health Care for the first time, securing the second position within Korea's cosmetics industry. As of the previous day, APR's market cap was ₩7.13 trillion compared to LG H&H's ₩4.59 trillion, creating a difference of over ₩2.5 trillion. With its recent rise, APR has now surpassed Amorepacific, claiming the leading position in K-beauty merely 17 months following its stock market debut.