South Korean brokerages are sitting out Anthropic's US initial public offering, potentially leaving Korean retail investors without access to shares before the AI company's Nasdaq debut. None of the 22 financial institutions named in Anthropic's filing is a Korean brokerage, and no domestic firm has publicly disclosed participating in the offering; the Financial Supervisory Service has received no related underwriting filings from local brokerages. The reluctance follows Mirae Asset Securities' failure to secure any share allocations for its clients despite participating in SpaceX's IPO underwriting syndicate, which triggered investor complaints and an on-site inspection by the financial regulator. Anthropic filed its Form S-1 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 26, with a potential valuation of $2 trillion. Without access to the IPO, Korean investors may have to wait until the stock begins trading on Nasdaq, potentially missing gains between the offering price and its market debut; ETFs could provide an alternative route, with Korean asset managers preparing ETFs designed to add Anthropic shares after its listing, though delays in portfolio adjustments could limit exposure to any immediate post-IPO rally. Japan, meanwhile, is taking a markedly different approach, with Japanese financial institutions seeking to raise a record $3.5 billion from domestic investors through Anthropic's IPO.