[Invest&Law] Johyunbeom's March, the Biggest Turning Point This Week

Limited Guardianship Initiation for Father
Decision on Petition Expected This Week
Likely to Affect General Meeting

The trial procedure that will determine the fate of Cho Hyun-beom, chairman of Hankook & Company, is expected to take place this week, drawing the business community's attention to the court.

Cho Hyun-beom, Chairman of Korea & Company Group [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the legal community on the 20th, the appellate court decision on the commencement of limited guardianship for Cho Yang-rae, honorary chairman of Hankook & Company Group, is expected as early as this week. The Family Division 1 of the Seoul Family Court (Chief Presiding Judge Cho Young-ho) concluded the hearing on the 7th and is currently reviewing whether to accept or dismiss the request filed by Cho Hee-kyung, chairwoman of the Hankook Tire Sharing Foundation.

Cho, the eldest daughter of the honorary chairman, filed a petition for commencement of limited adult guardianship at the Seoul Family Court in June 2020, opposing the sale of all shares of Hankook Technology Group (now Hankook & Company) held by her father to her younger brother, Chairman Cho. She claims that the sale is invalid because her father was not mentally healthy at the time of the transaction.

Cho stated, "An objective judgment is necessary to determine whether my father was capable of making voluntary decisions in a healthy state." As a result of the stock sale, Chairman Cho secured a 42.9% stake in the group, becoming the largest shareholder. The first trial dismissed Cho’s petition in April 2022, and she immediately appealed. Notably, a psychiatric evaluation, which was not conducted in the first trial, has been carried out in the second trial, drawing attention to whether it will influence the court's decision. If the court accepts Cho’s petition, the stock sale will be nullified, and Chairman Cho will have to relinquish his position as the largest shareholder.

The upcoming Hankook & Company annual general meeting on the 28th will inevitably be affected. Attention is also focused on the progress of Chairman Cho’s own trial. He is scheduled to appear at the Seoul Central District Court on the 21st for a hearing on allegations of unfair support to affiliates. Defendant questioning is expected during this trial. Chairman Cho is on trial for allegedly being involved in unfair support by having Hankook Tire purchase tire molds worth approximately 87.5 billion won from its affiliate, Hankook Precision Works (MKT), between February 2014 and December 2017, at prices higher than those of other manufacturers.

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