US Delta Air Lines Acquires Additional 1% Stake in Hanjin KAL... Shareholding Competition Intensifies

Cho Won-tae Increases Stake in Delta Classified as 'Ally' from 10% to 11%
"Bando Construction's Additional 5% Purchase of Hanjin KAL Shares Prompted Response"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] U.S. Delta Air Lines has additionally purchased a 1% stake in Hanjin KAL, the holding company of the Hanjin Group. Given that Delta Air Lines has been classified as an ally of Cho Won-tae, chairman of the Hanjin Group, the shareholding competition between Chairman Cho and the anti-Cho Won-tae coalition is also intensifying.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 24th, Hanjin KAL announced that Delta Air Lines secured an additional 1% stake (591,704 shares), increasing its shareholding from the previous 10.00% to 11.00%.

Inside and outside the business community, Delta Air Lines has been regarded as an ally of Chairman Cho. After the late Chairman Cho Yang-ho's passing, Delta Air Lines first acquired a 4.3% stake in Hanjin KAL in June last year and has steadily increased its shareholding to 10.00%. There are also rumors in the industry that Woo Ki-hong, CEO of Korean Air, visited Delta Air Lines last week to discuss the share purchase issue.

The reason for Delta Air Lines increasing its stake is attributed to the expanding shareholding of the anti-Cho Won-tae camp (a shareholder coalition for the normalization of the Hanjin Group). With the shareholding gap between Chairman Cho and the anti-Cho Won-tae camp narrowing to around 1%, Bando Construction, a member of the shareholder coalition, recently purchased an additional 5.02% stake in Hanjin KAL last week, signaling the start of the second round of shareholding competition.

This recent share purchase by Delta Air Lines, along with the previous purchase by the Bando side, will not affect the upcoming Hanjin KAL shareholders' meeting scheduled for March. This is because shares acquired after the record date (December 26, 2019) have no voting rights.

For this reason, some analysts suggest that the current shareholding competition between the two sides is aimed at a long-term battle to unfold after the shareholders' meeting. An industry insider stated, "Even if the anti-Cho Won-tae camp loses at this shareholders' meeting, they will seek the next opportunity through extraordinary shareholders' meetings, etc. Especially since Chairman Cho's term as CEO of Korean Air expires next year, there is a possibility of a second front forming."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.