[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that Roca Capital, an investment firm established by SK Group in Japan, is undergoing liquidation procedures. SK Group had invested approximately 400 billion won in the establishment of Roca Capital. Given the significant investment, questions are being raised regarding the sudden liquidation. Since its inception, Roca Capital has remained in the red every year. Consequently, it is being liquidated after recording only losses.
Four SK Group affiliates—SK Inc., SK Materials, SKC, and SK Siltron—established an investment company named SK Japan Investment in Japan in 2021. The structure involved each of the four affiliates holding a 25% stake in SK Japan Investment. It is reported that SK Group established the entity to invest in Japan with a focus on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance).
Later, as SK Materials was merged into SK Inc. in 2021, SK Inc. became the largest shareholder with a 50% stake in SK Japan Investment. SK Japan Investment changed its name to Roca Capital in 2024.
According to business reports, Roca Capital recorded losses from 2021 to 2025. While net losses reached tens of billions of won until 2023, the deficit decreased to 6.5 billion won in 2024 and 81 million won in 2025. Considering the scale of SK Group, these losses are not particularly large. However, it has been recently confirmed that SK Group decided to liquidate Roca Capital and is following the related procedures.
Signs of liquidation were visible earlier. According to business reports, Roca Capital's total assets stood at 331.2 billion won at the end of 2023. However, this figure dropped to under 100 billion won by the end of 2024, and to less than 1 billion won by the end of 2025. This is largely due to Roca Capital's paid-in capital reduction in 2024. Paid-in capital reduction refers to a company decreasing its capital by reducing the number of shares. The refund generated from the reduction is paid to the shareholders. Since Roca Capital drastically reduced its assets through this method, it would not be strange to assume they had intended to withdraw from the business.
Some analysts suggest this is unexpected, considering that SK Hynix has recently shown interest in the Japanese market. Even if Roca Capital was not a semiconductor-specialized investment firm, as a company operating in Japan, it could have sufficiently assisted SK Group's future entry into the Japanese market. In an interview with Bloomberg on August 31, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won stated regarding potential investment in a Japanese semiconductor plant, "We are looking at all of Japan," adding, "We are considering anywhere in Japan that has abundant power and water resources."
SK Group affiliates contributed about 400 billion won when establishing Roca Capital. Considering the funds recovered through the paid-in capital reduction, while they did not suffer a massive loss, they did not reap significant gains either. The size of Roca Capital's losses was also shrinking. This is why questions remain as to why SK Group would choose to liquidate Roca Capital precisely when it is showing interest in the Japanese market. SK Group has not provided any specific statement regarding the liquidation of Roca Capital.