Hanjin KAL Achieves 'Complete Victory' Over KCGI at General Meeting... "All Proposals Including Korean Air Passed" (Summary)

Hanjin KAL Annual General Meeting Scene.
Photo by Hanjin KAL

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Dae-yeol, Yoo Hyun-seok] In the proxy battle between Hanjin Group holding company Hanjin KAL and private equity fund KCGI over the appointment of board members, the company side won.

At the Hanjin KAL shareholders' meeting held on the 23rd, the proposal by KCGI to appoint Seo Yoon-seok (Professor at Ewha Womans University) as an outside director was rejected with 25% in favor and 56% against. On the other hand, the company’s proposal to appoint outside directors Joo In-ki (Emeritus Professor at Yonsei University) and Joo Soon-sik (former advisor at Yulchon) recommended by the Outside Director Candidate Recommendation Committee was approved with 61% in favor.

The proposal to appoint Ryu Kyung-pyo, President of Hanjin KAL, as a new inside director was also approved with 80% support. The company’s original proposal to appoint Shin Sung-hwan (Professor at Hongik University) as an outside director was withdrawn as Professor Shin voluntarily resigned due to joining the Presidential Transition Committee. Meanwhile, the proposal by KCGI to appoint Seo Yoon-seok, Professor at Ewha Womans University, as an outside director was rejected in the vote.

Additionally, the shareholder proposals by KCGI to introduce electronic voting at the shareholders' meeting and to strengthen the qualification criteria for directors through amendments to the articles of incorporation received approval rates of 57.9% and 53.4%, respectively, but both were rejected. For amendments to the articles of incorporation to pass, more than two-thirds of attending shareholders must approve, and the number of shares in favor must be at least one-third of the total voting shares issued.

Joo Won-tae, Chairman of Hanjin Group and the largest shareholder of Hanjin KAL, and KCGI, which aims to improve corporate value through governance reforms and achieve investment returns, had previously clashed over company management two years ago. However, this year, with the Korea Development Bank investing 800 billion KRW to support Korean Air’s acquisition of Asiana Airlines and securing more than 10% of shares, many expected the company side to win comfortably as the bank sided with Chairman Joo.

In his greeting delivered through Hanjin KAL CEO Seok Tae-soo on the day, Chairman Joo said, "To overcome the prolonged COVID-19 crisis and enhance shareholder value, this year’s management policy has been set to support overcoming the COVID-19 crisis and securing liquidity." He added, "We will successfully restructure the Korean aviation industry and ensure that Korean Air and Asiana Airlines create a unified culture beyond physical integration, with all employees working together with one heart."

Meanwhile, at the Korean Air shareholders' meeting held on the same day as Hanjin KAL’s, all proposals were approved, concluding the meeting.

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