Balaan raised 73.5 billion won to be Korea's luxury platform — and went bankrupt

Balaan (발란) was founded in 2015 as Korea's first-generation online luxury goods platform, connecting sellers of high-end fashion, watches, and accessories with buyers. From 2021 to 2024, the platform enjoyed strong growth as COVID-19 pent-up demand drove luxury spending in Korea. At its peak, it processed monthly transactions estimated at around 30 billion won.

The company never turned a profit. Operating losses widened from 6.3 billion won in 2020 to 37.9 billion won in 2022. By 2023, its total capital was negative 7.7 billion won — complete capital erosion. Current liabilities of 13.8 billion won far exceeded cash equivalents of 3.4 billion won. The business was sustained entirely by investor funding, not by its own economics.

In March 2025, Balaan filed for corporate rehabilitation with the Seoul Bankruptcy Court after a planned 15 billion won investment from cosmetics wholesaler Silicon Two collapsed. Only half the investment had been paid; the rest was conditional on performance targets Balaan could not meet. The company's sales had fallen 35.9% year-on-year in the first 22 days of March alone. Sellers reported unpaid settlements for the first quarter of 2025, with the platform citing 'system errors' for delayed payments. Employees had begun working remotely and CEO Choi Hyung-rok became unreachable.

On February 24, 2026, the 15th Rehabilitation Division of the Seoul Bankruptcy Court formally declared Balaan bankrupt. The 73.5 billion won invested across the platform's lifetime was written off as a total loss. Creditors were given until April 3, 2026 to file claims, with a creditors' meeting scheduled for April 16. The company was ordered into liquidation.