Hoban Group’s stake rises, followed by 66.3 billion won in treasury shares contributed; police raid Hanjin KAL Corporation

[Financial News] Police have launched a compulsory investigation into Hanjin KAL Corporation, the holding company of Hanjin Group, over allegations that it used company assets to defend management control.
According to police and other sources on the 7th, Investigation Team 3 of the Financial Crime Investigation Team, Metropolitan Investigation Unit, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, recently conducted a search and seizure of Hanjin KAL Corporation and others on suspicion of breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, among other charges.
In May last year, the Committee for the Protection of Ordinary People's Livelihood filed a complaint against Walter Cho, chairman of Hanjin Group, and Ryu Kyeong-pyo, CEO of Hanjin KAL Corporation.
The committee claimed that Hanjin KAL Corporation had used company assets to defend management control by contributing 440,044 treasury shares, worth approximately 66.3 billion won and representing a 0.66% stake, to an employee welfare fund.
At the time, Hoban Group, Hanjin KAL Corporation’s second-largest shareholder, increased its stake from 17.44% to 18.46%. Hanjin KAL Corporation subsequently disclosed that it would contribute 440,044 treasury shares to the employee welfare fund.
In its complaint, the committee claimed that the contribution was “an improper donation for which no necessity other than defending control was recognized.”
Police are expected to examine the circumstances surrounding the contribution of the treasury shares, the internal decision-making process, and whether the company suffered any losses based on the materials secured during the search and seizure.
[email protected] Choi Seung-han Reporter