A 36-year-old beauty mogul is South Korea’s newest billionaire

[SEOUL] In a 15-second TikTok clip that has racked up millions of views, Kylie Jenner glides a sleek silver device across her face, swearing by its ability to help skin absorb serums more effectively. Dubbed the Booster Pro, the gadget’s video has gone viral – and with it, the fortunes of its maker APR, a once-obscure Seoul-based startup now at the centre of the K-beauty boom.

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 high-tech facial devices that promise spa-like treatments at home. It’s 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 told Bloomberg News 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 Korean beauty products jumped 56 per cent to US$1.9 billion last year.

With global interest rising alongside K-pop music and Korean dramas, celebrities began spotlighting products from APR’s flagship brand Medicube in their routines. Hailey Bieber first posted about its gel mask in late 2023, unprompted, the company said. That organic buzz paved the way for APR’s global campaigns in 2024 featuring Kylie and Kendall Jenner, and Khloe Kardashian.

“Now it feels that K-beauty has reached the stage where it’s spreading from early adopters to mass-market consumers,” said APR’s CFO Shin, a former M&A banker at HSBC Holdings, who joined Kim in 2016 after being drawn to his vision.

While the rise of K-beauty has mirrored the global surge of South Korean culture, APR is part of a new wave of cosmetic exports. Unlike legacy brands that relied heavily on duty-free shops or China-focused lines, APR found its niche in TikTok-powered skincare campaigns and sleek devices that serve up beauty tech.

“K-beauty companies that are good at marketing on digital platforms tend to show faster growth in e-commerce,” said Eun-Jung Park, an analyst with Hana Securities in Seoul.

China remains South Korea’s largest beauty export market – but just barely. While Chinese imports are slowing, the US is now growing faster and offers higher margins, thanks to its premium retail landscape. More than 70 per cent of APR’s revenue now comes from overseas markets – and the US is its biggest driver of growth outside South Korea.

The company is now preparing for its biggest retail push yet: in August, Medicube will be sold at cosmetics retailer chain Ulta Beauty stores across the US, expanding its presence beyond online platforms like Amazon.com and its own e-commerce channels.

“APR is one of the strongest marketing players among K-beauty brands,” said Park. “Its Medicube is No 1 in sales [in the US] for a single K-beauty brand.”

APR’s current lines of skincare and devices focus on anti-ageing, moisturising and brightening, with a possibility of expanding into healthcare, the company said in an email.

But it is not immune to global trade pressures. For now, APR pays a 10 per cent tariff on beauty goods imported to the US, which Shin calls “manageable.” But potential escalation in trade tensions, or US clampdowns on Asian imports, could disrupt its rapid growth.

On Monday in the US, President Donald Trump unveiled a tariff of 25 per cent on goods from South Korea beginning Aug 1. That effectively buys South Korea – and other affected nations – an extra three weeks to cut a deal with the White House.

Meanwhile, Shin expects the company’s sales to hit 1 trillion won (S$933 million) in annual revenue this year, a metric in which it is currently lagging its peers.

As the business grows, founder-turned-billionaire Kim’s personal moves are making local headlines. He recently purchased a penthouse in Seoul’s upscale Seongsu-dong neighbourhood for 29 billion won, the company confirmed, setting a new national record for the highest price per square metre. The luxury residence is also home to well-known movie stars and sports figures, signalling his arrival as one of the country’s most visible new billionaires.

Despite his new wealth, Kim, who serves as the company’s chief executive officer, remains intensely hands-on – coming into the office daily, closely tracking consumer trends and market reactions, and holding strategy meetings with top management even on weekends, Shin said. A few years ago, Kim shared a before-and-after video on social media showcasing the effects of APR’s facial gadget on his own skin.

But in recent years, he’s largely stepped back online, keeping a lower profile as the company’s visibility has soared.

He declined Bloomberg News requests for an interview, but has in the past spoken about being influenced by the business models of Apple and Tesla

“If someone asks me what my career goal is, I’d say now I want to make a big company everyone knows,” Kim told local media around the time of his last Instagram post. “Like Apple, we want to introduce products that would make us the most innovative company in the beauty industry.” BLOOMBERG