BOOKMARK
  • Korean|
  • Chinese|
  • Japanese|
  • Vietnamese
본문내용 바로가기

Aju Business Daily

SEARCH
  • ECONOMY
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • IT
  • South Korea
  • North Korea
  • WORLD
  • SPORTS
  • LIFESTYLE
  • AUTO MOTIVE
  • OPINION
  • PEOPLE
  • MILITARY
Home > Business > article

Hanjin Group chairman retains leadership with majority of votes by shareholders

Lim Chang-won Reporter(cwlim34@ajunews.com) | Posted : March 27, 2020, 16:17 | Updated : March 27, 2020, 16:17
  • 트위터
  • 페이스북
  • 웨이보

[Courtesy of Hanjin Group]

SEOUL -- At a high-profile meeting of shareholders, Hanjin Group chairman Cho Won-tae scored a comfortable victory over an opposing alliance led by his elder sister to retain control over the scandal-stricken conglomerate in a leadership contest that followed the sudden death of their father last year.

The 44-year-old chairman earned 56.67 percent of the votes cast by shareholders on Friday. Some 43.27 percent voted against him. The chairman was able to widen the margin with support from the National Pension Service (NPS), which holds a 2.9 percent stake in Hanjin KAL, the de facto holding company of Hanjin Group.

As head of Hanjin-KAL, Cho Won-Tae was officially designated by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), a state anti-trust watchdog, as group chairman in May last year to succeed his late father. However, a family feud began in December 2019 when Cho Hyun-ah, a former Korean Air vice president known for a "nut rage" incident in 2014, broke her quiet life to wage a revolt against her brother.

A month later, Cho Hyun-ah formed a three-way alliance with Bando Engineering & Construction and Korea Corporate Governance Improvement (KCGI), an activist private equity fund. The alliance insisted Hanjin should be run by professional managers to enhance the interests of ordinary shareholders.

Cho Hyun-ah has criticized her brother for running the group without prior consultations with family members. Her argument failed to win over a majority of neutral shareholders. Delta Air Lines was among the chairman's friendly shareholders.

KCGI has accused Cho Won-tae of turning a deaf ear to calls from ordinary shareholders without realizing Hanjin's management crisis, pointing to Korean Air's high debt ratio. The chairman has vowed to dispose of non-core assets and set up a neutral governance committee aimed at enhancing corporate transparency.

The feud had good effects, prompting Korean Air, the country's largest national flag carrier, to establish a governance committee of outside directors that will review and make recommendations about key management decisions.

The three-way alliance sparked criticism that KCGI was "sleeping with the enemy" because Cho Hyun-ah was once the subject of widespread public criticism.

Hanjin was battered by a series of scandals throughout last year after Cho Hyun-min threw a glass cup and sprayed plum juice during a business meeting with advertising agency officials. The incident fueled public anger, leading to multiple investigations into the late chairman, his wife and children on charges of creating a slush fund, evading taxes, bringing in luxury foreign goods illegally, abusing and assaulting company employees and others.

Cho Hyun-ah became enraged in December 2014 when a flight attendant served her some nuts in a bag on board a flight that was forced back to the gate while taxiing to the runway. She was given a prison sentence on conviction of violating aviation safety laws, but an appeals court suspended her sentence in May 2015.

Cho Hyun-min has come back to Hanjin's leadership, while Cho Hyun-ah has been sidelined at a time when she is under pressure to pay an inheritance tax.

  • Lim Chang-won Reporter
  • email : cwlim34@ajunews.com
© Aju Business Daily & www.ajunews.com Copyright: All materials on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the authorization from the Aju News Corporation.
  • twitter
  • facebook
  • weibo
  • link copy
  • LIST
  • TOP

Related news

  • .Hanjin signs partnership with Plug and Play to discover new businesses.
    Hanjin signs partnership with Plug and Play to discover new …
  • .Hanjin chairman and mother make joint apology for X-mas argument.
    Hanjin chairman and mother make joint apology for X-mas argu…
  • .Korean Air to get new fund from Hanjin groups holding company.
    Korean Air to get new fund from Hanjin group's holding compa…

Real Time Photo News

  • .Singer HyunA to end 14-month hiatus with mini-album Im Not Cool.

    Singer HyunA to end 14-month hiatus with mini-album 'I'm Not Cool'

  • .NCSofts global K-pop fan community platform to service original content including songs.

    NCSoft's global K-pop fan community platform to service original content including songs

  • .Singer IU drops teaser image for upcoming full album.

    Singer IU drops teaser image for upcoming full album

  • .Cube Entertainment partners with web comics company to create online video content.

    Cube Entertainment partners with web comics company to create online video content

  • .Sci-fi film starring Song Joong-ki to be reelased on Netflix in February.

    Sci-fi film starring Song Joong-ki to be reelased on Netflix in February

Latest News

more+

  • KHNP localizes new CIGS solar cells for building integrated photovoltaic system
  • Hyundai tests autonomous robot assistant in Seoul showroom
  • Exports of Korean chili paste up sharply thanks to growing popularity of K-drama
  • LG Innotek develops compact digital car key module for enhanced security and accuracy
  • KT unveils app for collecting COVID-19 research data
Aju Business Daily
  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • PRIVACY STATEMENT
  • Copyright Policy

Address : Aju News Corporation LEEMA Building, 11th floor, 42, Jong-ro 1-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul.    Mail : swatchsjp@ajunews.com

Copyright ⓒ 2016 By Ajunews Corporation, All Rights Reserved.

Mobile view