KSOE's minority shareholders unite against management
來源: 開云體育app官方網站 時間: 2023-01-26 06:46:40
Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries' shipyard in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province / Courtesy of Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries
By Park Jae-hyuk
A growing number of minority shareholders of Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) have joined a campaign to vote against all proposals from its management at Tuesday's general meeting of shareholders, according to industry officials, Monday.
Their protest is mainly intended to thwart the company's plan to list one of its subsidiaries, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, on the local stock market later this year.
Since KSOE Vice Chairman and CEO Ka Sam-hyun reaffirmed earlier this year that Hyundai Samho will go public as planned, the minority shareholders have expressed concerns about an additional decline in KSOE's stock price, citing a previous stock price plunge, when another subsidiary, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), was listed on the benchmark KOSPI market last September.
KSOE's stock price, which reached 163,500 won ($134) last May, has dropped continuously over the past few months to Monday's closing price of 88,800 won.
"KSOE was originally HHI, but under the pretext of acquiring Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), its management spun off HHI from the newly established parent firm, KSOE. After HHI went public, the previous shareholders of HHI became KSOE shareholders," one of KSOE's minority shareholders wrote online. "Since then, KSOE's stock price has halved, but the company is trying to list another subsidiary, Hyundai Samho."
Some of the minority shareholders have already voted against management through the Korea Securities Depository's electronic voting system.
"If management continues ignoring the warnings from shareholders, we should file lawsuits against management," another minority shareholder said.
Their action is also expected to weigh on HHI Group's ongoing attempts to hand over control of the conglomerate to KSOE and HHI Holdings President Chung Ki-sun, a grandson of late founder Chung Ju-yung.
According to KSOE's regulatory filing, the KSOE president was recommended as a new inside director to lead the company along with Ka, the incumbent CEO who seeks to be reappointed as an inside director.
The HHI Group heir is also attempting to join the board of directors of HHI Holdings, which has its next general meeting of shareholders on Monday and will be rebranded as HD Hyundai.
