Hankook & Company, the holding company of Hankook Tire & Technology (Hankook Tire), held its 15th annual shareholders’ meeting at its headquarters in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on March 28. At the meeting, it passed a proposal to establish a provision for interim dividends. Hankook & Company serves as the holding company of Hankook Tire, with Chairman Cho Hyun-bum serving as the CEO.
Although Chairman Cho did not attend the shareholders’ meeting, he fulfilled his commitment to consider interim dividends. This gesture is seen as a token of appreciation to shareholders who supported him after he successfully resolved a shareholder dispute with his brother at the end of last year, thereby securing management control. Additionally, it’s noted that the recent performance of Hankook Tire has improved.
At the end of last year, Chairman Cho’s older brother, Cho Hyun-sik, a former advisor to Hankook & Company, attempted to acquire management control by partnering with MBK Partners and launching a public takeover of Hankook & Company’s shares. However, this attempt was unsuccessful as Chairman Cho Yang-rae, the honorary chairman of Hankook & Company, increased his stake, preventing the public takeover bid from succeeding. Consequently, Chairman Cho successfully maintained his management control.
Despite successfully defending his management control, Chairman Cho still faces legal risks due to an ongoing trial without detention. As a result, he has taken responsibility by not being included in the proposal for the appointment of internal directors, which was approved at the Hankook Tire shareholders’ meeting held in the morning on the same day. This marks his departure from the board of internal directors after 12 years. It follows Chairman Cho’s withdrawal of his own proposal for reappointment as an internal director on March 25. This move is interpreted as stemming from the pressure felt due to the ongoing trial for allegations of unfair support to affiliates and embezzlement and misappropriation.