Johyunbeom "Brothers should resolve through conversation... MBK is reckless"

Attendance at Seoul District Court for Trial
"Father's Health Is Fine...
MBK Should Avoid Market Confusion"

Cho Hyun-beom, Chairman of Hankook & Company Group, recently expressed his willingness to meet directly to resolve conflicts with his siblings over the company’s management rights.

On the 21st, Cho met with reporters at the Seoul Central District Court, where he attended a trial related to allegations of unfair support, embezzlement, and breach of trust involving an affiliate. He said, "Since my father (Honorary Chairman Cho Yang-rae) is elderly, I think the siblings need to clear up misunderstandings through dialogue," adding, "There is no concrete plan yet, but we should meet."

Cho Hyun-beom, Chairman of Korea & Company Group [Photo by Yonhap News]

Hankook & Company is the holding company of Hankook Tire & Technology (formerly Hankook Tire) and is currently engaged in a share acquisition battle over control of the company. Opposing the largest shareholder, Chairman Cho Hyun-beom, his older brother, Advisor Cho Hyun-sik, and sister Cho Hee-won have teamed up with the private equity fund MBK Partners to launch a public tender offer to buy shares on the market. Cho Hee-kyung, Chairman of the Hankook Tire Nanum Foundation and sister of Chairman Cho, has voiced the same stance as Advisor Cho.

Chairman Cho clarified that Honorary Chairman Cho Yang-rae’s health is not problematic. He said, "I just saw my father; he is receiving personal training, exercising, and is in good health." In contrast, Chairman Cho’s sister, Cho Hee-kyung, has consistently raised concerns about their father’s health since the time he transferred shares to the second son, Chairman Cho Hyun-beom. She also filed a petition for adult guardianship on the same grounds.

He also urged caution regarding MBK Partners, which is leading the public tender offer. Chairman Cho said, "I hope they refrain from participating in deals that cause confusion among market participants with an ‘if not, then never mind’ attitude."

He continued, "Maybe because MBK has received investments and succeeded a lot, but isn’t this somewhat reckless? Private equity businesses are based on trust and networking with entrepreneurs and market participants, so I wonder how the chairmen of this brand view this situation."

Cho Hyun-sik, Advisor at Korea & Company [Photo by Source]

Regarding the Korea Exchange’s special inquiry into allegations of market manipulation related to on-market purchases by Honorary Chairman Cho and his friendly forces, he said, "Since these were defensive measures for management rights and were handled cautiously from a legal standpoint, there should be no major issues." He added, "The stock price rose 40-50% several months before the public tender offer announcement, so I wonder if the financial authorities should investigate pre-trading."

As of the previous day, the shares held by Chairman Cho and special related parties, including Honorary Chairman Cho’s 3.77% stake, total 45.87%. In addition, Hyosung Group affiliates (Hyosung Advanced Materials), considered cousin companies of Hankook & Company, are also classified as Chairman Cho’s friendly forces. Chairman Cho revealed that they have purchased additional shares, bringing their stake close to 50%. The anti-Cho Hyun-beom faction, including Advisor Cho, holds 30.35%. MBK has announced plans to secure at least 20.35% or more through the public tender offer to exercise management rights.

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