diff --git a/compiler/cli/cli-js/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/js/K2JsIrCompiler.kt b/compiler/cli/cli-js/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/js/K2JsIrCompiler.kt
index 8c2fc0b0e7d..9e9d1df97aa 100644
--- a/compiler/cli/cli-js/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/js/K2JsIrCompiler.kt
+++ b/compiler/cli/cli-js/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/js/K2JsIrCompiler.kt
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ class K2JsIrCompiler : CLICompiler<K2JSCompilerArguments>() {
                 val runner = """
                     const wasmBinary = read(String.raw`${outputWasmFile.absoluteFile}`, 'binary');
                     const wasmModule = new WebAssembly.Module(wasmBinary);
-                    const wasmInstance = new WebAssembly.Instance(wasmModule, { runtime, js_code });
+                    wasmInstance = new WebAssembly.Instance(wasmModule, { runtime, js_code });
                     wasmInstance.exports.main();
                 """.trimIndent()