Eldest Son of Hankook Tire Family, Cho Hyun-sik, "Taking Responsibility for Management Rights Controversy... Will Resign as CEO"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 24th, Cho Hyun-sik, the eldest son of the family involved in the recent management rights dispute at Hankook & Company (the new name of the Hankook Tire Technology Group), announced that he will step down from his position as CEO.

Cho stated that he will complete the procedure to appoint Professor Lee Han-sang of Korea University as an outside director and member of the audit committee of Hankook & Company on the same day and resign from his CEO position. He added that he officially submitted a shareholder proposal containing the related agenda to the board of directors on the 5th.

Cho explained, "I feel a great sense of responsibility for the fact that the descendants of the founder and the major shareholders of the company appeared to be in conflict," and said, "I am announcing my intention to resign in order to fundamentally break the chain of controversies over the management rights dispute that could harm the company's reputation."

He also urged, "I believe that laying the foundation for the company's sustainable growth is the way to meet the expectations of the shareholders, and I hope this will also resolve the controversy over the management rights dispute."

Furthermore, he emphasized, "My commitment to the company's development and enhancing shareholder value has been consistent until now and will remain unchanged in the future," and added, "The recommendation of Professor Lee Han-sang is a sincere proposal made at the risk of my CEO position to lay a solid foundation for the company's future-oriented governance and enhancement of shareholder value, and I earnestly appeal for the shareholders' excellent choice and support."

The final decision on the agenda for Hankook & Company's shareholders' meeting will be made on the 25th of this month, and the related agenda is scheduled to be processed at the shareholders' meeting at the end of March.

Meanwhile, Professor Lee, who will be appointed as an outside director and audit committee member of Hankook & Company this time, is recognized as a top domestic expert in corporate governance expertise and independence. While serving as an outside director at leading domestic companies, he achieved significant results, such as raising governance ratings from grade C to grade A for two consecutive years. Recently, he also delivered lectures related to accounting transparency and corporate value at the Samsung Compliance Committee.

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