KCGI Appeals to Hanjin KAL Shareholders to Delegate Voting Rights, Urging Support for the Three-Party Alliance

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Activist private equity fund KCGI publicly urged shareholders at the Hanjin KAL regular general meeting to support the three-party shareholder alliance (KCGI, former Korean Air Vice President Cho Hyun-ah, and Bando Construction).

Kang Sung-boo, CEO of KCGI, is making a presentation at a press conference of the shareholder alliance for the normalization of Hanjin Group held at Glad Hotel Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on the 20th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On the 6th, KCGI disclosed reference documents including the "intention to solicit proxy voting rights" and stated, "The proposed amendments to the articles of incorporation by the three-party alliance include the introduction of electronic voting, strengthening of director qualification criteria and obligations, enhancement of board independence and authority, all aimed at improving corporate governance and increasing shareholder value." They added, "We hope you will delegate your voting rights in favor of this agenda."

KCGI criticized Chairman Cho Won-tae, saying, "He has a history of investigations by the Fair Trade Commission and prosecutors for acts of private gain, is accused of fraudulent admission to Inha University, and is currently under prosecutorial investigation for violations of the Labor Standards Act." They claimed, "The Hanjin KAL management led by CEO Cho Won-tae is identified as a hotbed of corruption and misconduct."

Furthermore, KCGI pointed out, "Among the outside director candidates recommended by the current management is a former outside director of Hanjin Shipping, which went bankrupt due to excessive debt, making it difficult to properly perform the role of checking and monitoring the current management’s reckless management, corruption, and misconduct."

On the previous day, Hanjin KAL held a board meeting and resolved to recommend candidates for inside and outside directors to be presented at the shareholders' meeting, including the reappointment of Chairman Cho as an inside director. On that day, Hanjin KAL decided to reappoint Chairman Cho as an inside director and to nominate Ha Eun-yong, Vice President of Finance at Korean Air, as a new inside director. The outside director candidates included ΔKim Seok-dong, former Chairman of the Financial Services Commission ΔPark Young-seok, President of the Capital Market Research Institute ΔLim Chun-soo, CEO of Midas Private Equity (PE) ΔChoi Yoon-hee, former Dean of Konkuk University Law School ΔLee Dong-myung, Chief Attorney at Law Firm Cheoeum, totaling five candidates.

Finally, KCGI requested, “Please delegate your voting rights in favor of the articles of incorporation amendments proposed by the three-party alliance and against those proposed by Chairman Cho’s camp," and urged, "We ask for your support to contribute to the enhancement and development of Hanjin KAL’s value."

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