Kakao, "Decision Made Considering Advisory Agency Opinions" Regarding Hanjin Group Management Rights

Expectations That Chairman Cho Won-tae Will Gain Allies

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] Kakao has expressed its intention to make decisions regarding the Hanjin Group management rights dispute by considering the opinions of domestic and international proxy advisory firms. This has led some to predict that Kakao may become an ally of Cho Won-tae, chairman of Hanjin Group.

According to the IT industry on the 20th, Kakao stated on the 27th, regarding its voting policy at the Hanjin KAL shareholders' meeting, that "we plan to decide by considering the business cooperation relationship and the opinions of domestic and international proxy advisory firms."

Industry insiders interpret this as Kakao prioritizing a stable cooperative relationship with Chairman Cho, who manages Hanjin Group.

Previously, in December last year, Kakao signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korean Air to innovate customer value and strengthen business competitiveness, agreeing to jointly pursue various projects. At that time, Kakao also purchased a 1% voting stake in Hanjin KAL, which was classified as a friendly stake toward Chairman Cho's side.

However, recently, Kakao has shown intentions to withdraw from the management rights dispute by selling part of its Hanjin KAL shares. Kakao explained this by stating, "We sold several non-core assets proactively in response to the global spread of COVID-19 and the resulting increased uncertainty in financial markets." Furthermore, Kakao conveyed that it has no plans to play a role in defending Hanjin Group's management rights or act as a white knight.

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