Korean Air Changes Articles of Incorporation to 'Ordinary Resolution' for Director Appointment... Positive Signal for Cho Won-tae's Reappointment

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] Korean Air has amended its articles of incorporation to change the method of appointing directors from a special resolution to an ordinary resolution. This change alters the so-called 'two-thirds rule' in the articles, which was a decisive factor in the late Chairman Cho Yang-ho's failure to be reappointed as an inside director of Korean Air last year, and it is expected to affect the reappointment of Cho Won-tae, Chairman of Hanjin Group, as an inside director of Korean Air when his term ends in March next year.

On the 27th, Korean Air held its regular shareholders' meeting at the Korean Air building in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, and passed the amendment to the articles of incorporation changing the method of appointing directors from a special resolution to an ordinary resolution. The National Pension Service opposed the agenda item, stating there was no justifiable reason for changing the method of appointing directors.

Unlike most listed companies that classify the appointment and dismissal of directors as ordinary resolution matters, allowing the agenda to pass with the approval of a majority of shareholders attending the meeting, Korean Air had previously stipulated in its articles of incorporation that the appointment and dismissal of directors required a special resolution with the approval of at least two-thirds of the shareholders attending the meeting.

Due to this method of appointing directors, at last year's shareholders' meeting, Chairman Cho Yang-ho lost his qualification as an inside director with 64.09% approval and 35.91% opposition in the vote on the agenda for appointing inside directors.

At this shareholders' meeting, Korean Air appointed three new outside directors: former Yonsei University President Jeong Gap-young, Professor Cho Myung-hyun of Korea University Business School, and Park Hyun-joo, advisor at SC First Bank. President Woo Ki-hong and Vice President Lee Soo-geun, whose terms expire this year, succeeded in their reappointment as inside directors. The Korean Air board of directors is now composed of a total of nine members, including three inside directors and six outside directors.

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