Strengthening the 'Gu Ji-eun Regime' at Ourhome... Gu Bonseong's Stake Sale Remains a Challenge

Approval of '0%' Dividend Rate at General Meeting
Measure to Strengthen Legitimacy of Current Ourhome System
Goo Bonseong's Share Sale Process at Standstill

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] As Ourhome decided for the first time since its founding to issue no dividends to shareholders, solidifying the leadership of CEO Gu Ji-eun, the issue of share sales involving former Vice Chairman Gu Bon-seong remains unresolved.

According to Ourhome on the 25th, at the regular shareholders' meeting held on the 23rd, the company passed a rare corporate resolution to set the shareholder dividend rate at 0%. There will be no dividends on the shares held by shareholders, including Vice Chairman Gu. Despite the difficult situation, since the company has returned to profitability, it plans to strengthen crisis management and focus company resources on the future by preparing in advance for possible deficits in the meal service business due to rising labor costs and inflation. Industry insiders interpret this as a move to reclaim legitimacy for the current Ourhome system led by Vice Chairman Gu and to strengthen management control.

In 2020, despite a decrease in net profit, former Vice Chairman Gu and the management received the largest dividends ever, drawing criticism. When the three sisters united to dismiss former Vice Chairman Gu, it is known that this point, aside from his retaliatory driving and other misconduct, was also taken into consideration. This added weight to the determination to cut off the loose management practices of the former Vice Chairman Gu era. Additionally, it effectively blocked dividends to the largest shareholder, former Vice Chairman Gu.

The remaining headache is the issue of the complete sale of shares by former Vice Chairman Gu. Former Vice Chairman Gu had publicly expressed his intention to sell all his shares and step down from frontline management, but as nearly two months have passed, it is understood that he has not made any contact with Ourhome. It is also known that there was no prior consultation with Ourhome when he announced his intention to sell the shares.

If Vice Chairman Gu were to acquire some of the shares sold by former Vice Chairman Gu, it could prevent future management disputes and further strengthen the current system. However, contrary to expectations that the process would proceed swiftly, no progress has been made, causing concern. While there is a possibility that a third party may appear during the share sale process, the industry expects that a family transaction is the most likely scenario from a practical standpoint.

An Ourhome official said, "Even after expressing the intention to sell shares, we understand that through a sales advisory firm, there was an intention to complete the sale by this summer, but we have never had direct discussions," adding, "We are focusing on normalizing management and hope this situation is resolved quickly." In response, a representative of former Vice Chairman Gu’s legal counsel dismissed the issue, stating, "We are making every effort to communicate smoothly with Ourhome."

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