The Glossy 50 honors the year’s biggest changemakers across fashion and beauty. More from the series →
Kim Byung-Hoon is building an empire on pore pads and “Booster Pros” — the skin-care gadget his brand, Medicube, has become synonymous with.
The Seoul-based entrepreneur has been building his beauty empire since 2014, when he founded the skin-care brand Aprilskin, which, he said, focuses on natural ingredients. In 2017, he launched Medicube, which homes in on targeted treatments for specific skin concerns. In 2024, the brands’ parent company, APR Corp, went public, and today, Byung-Hoon’s 31% stake in the $4 billion company is worth an estimated $1.3 billion.
Along the way, Medicube has benefited from major organic endorsements, including a 2023 Hailey Bieber TikTok post featuring its hero gadget. Since then, the brand has also worked with celebrities like Kylie Jenner in a paid capacity — in April, Jenner posted about visiting the brand’s Los Angeles pop-up before it opened to the public. And in March, Medicube appointed celebrity makeup artist Sir John as its creative director — as such, he advises on marketing and product development, hosts events, and serves as a face of the company.
The company first entered the device space in 2021. The Booster Pro — which retails for $220, or $100 for a mini version — remains the brand’s hero product. The handheld gadget combines popular skin-care technologies, like LED and microcurrent, and sells at Ulta Beauty, along with TikTok Shop and DTC. Byung-Hoon said that devices often make up 30-40% of the brand’s annual sales.
And the brand is not done in the device category, Byung-Hoon said. “The beauty device industry is really just starting. There are a lot of people who still have to [discover] our devices, and there are more devices to come for the brand,” he told Glossy in a rare interview, noting that, in the second half of 2026, Medicube plans to expand into devices focused on the skin aesthetics popular in Seoul clinics.
2025 has been a massive sales year for Medicube. According to the brand, during Amazon Prime Day sales in July, it drove $22 million; on Black Friday, it earned over $9 million across Amazon, TikTok Shop and DTC e-commerce; and in October, it ranked No. 1 in Ulta Beauty’s online skin-care category and No. 3 overall, based on both online and in-store performance.
In July, Medicube cited a 2025 revenue target of $1 trillion won, or approximately $680 million USD. In the first three quarters of the year, it generated $666 million in revenue, representing 100% year-over-year growth. Based on its strong holiday sales momentum, it expects full-year sales to surpass its $680 million goal.
Still, Byung-Hoon is not slowing down. “We’re seeing great growth in Japan and across Europe,” he said, adding, “We want to be in every channel out there.”
