[Invest&Law] Korea & Company Forms First Government Relations Team... Responding to Judicial Risks

Recruitment of Executive in Charge of Group Public Relations
Full-Scale Response to Owner's Legal Risks and More

Korea & Company (formerly the holding company of Hankook Tire) has established its first-ever government relations (GR) team. This move is interpreted as a strategic effort to actively respond to various legal risks faced by Chairman Cho Hyun-bum starting this year.

According to industry sources on the 7th, Korea & Company recruited Executive Director A earlier this year to handle government relations. Executive Director A joined Hankook Tire in 1999, moved to another group in 2005 to work on GR-related tasks, and has now returned to his original company after more than a decade.

This is the first time Korea & Company has formed a dedicated GR team. The company explained the establishment of the GR organization by stating, "Until now, with overseas business accounting for 90%, we focused more on international operations, and the lack of a dedicated GR team led to insufficient communication with external parties, causing various difficulties. We decided to form the related organization through this opportunity."

A significant portion of the GR work is expected to involve responding to legal disputes surrounding Chairman Cho Hyun-bum. While the legal team handles logical responses during trials, the GR team is likely to manage external issues arising from legal conflicts. Chairman Cho is currently on trial for embezzlement and breach of trust involving approximately 20 billion KRW related to unfair support of affiliates. Although he was released on bail in November last year, a not-guilty verdict remains uncertain. Additionally, in 2020, he was indicted on charges of breach of trust and embezzlement, and in the appellate trial, he was sentenced to three years in prison with a four-year probation.

Korea & Company reportedly evaluated Executive Director A’s experience in handling government relations and responding to owners’ legal risks at other companies positively. An industry insider said, "Among Executive Director A’s GR experience, the company particularly valued his handling of owners’ legal risks and even going through special pardons. This recruitment appears to be a move to actively address not only the owner’s but also the company’s legal risks starting this year."

Cho Hyun-beom, chairman of Korea & Company, who is suspected of unfair support to affiliates and embezzlement and breach of trust, is attending a continuation trial held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 11th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

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