Hoban tightens grip on Hanjin KAL, reigniting talk of power struggle
Korean construction giant Hoban Group has raised its stake in Hanjin KAL, the holding company of Korean Air parent Hanjin Group, to over 18 percent, stoking speculation of a looming power struggle as it closes in on the largest shareholder bloc led by the group's chairman.
In a regulatory filing on Monday, Hoban Construction, the group's construction arm, disclosed that its stake in Hanjin KAL had climbed to 18.46 percent from 17.44 percent.
The additional shares were acquired over the past year through Hoban affiliates, complementing Hoban Construction's existing 11.5 percent stake. Hoban Hotel & Resort purchased 0.96 percent of Hanjin KAL, bringing its holding to 6.81 percent, while Hoban Co. lifted its stake to 0.15 percent.
The increase puts Hoban just shy of the 20.13 percent held by Hanjin Group Chair and CEO Walter Cho and his allies, including his family members. Cho's individual stake amounts to 5.78 percent.
Hoban became the airline group's second-largest shareholder in 2022 after acquiring a stake from private equity fund KCGI. In 2023, it added another 5.85 percent by purchasing shares from Korean top bulk carrier Pan Ocean.
Despite Hoban's insistence that the acquisition is purely a financial investment, market insiders have taken note of signs pointing to a looming power play in aviation.
'Hanjin KAL may have friendly backing, but Hoban's expanding presence is hard to ignore,' said one industry official.
In 2015, Hoban made an unsuccessful bid to acquire Kumho Industrial, then the parent company of Asiana Airlines, after taking a 5.16 percent stake the previous year. At the time, it dismissed takeover concerns, framing the move as a simple investment.
A potential sign of discord surfaced at Hanjin KAL's shareholder meeting in March, when Hoban Construction voted against a proposal to raise the cap on directors' compensation from 9 billion won ($6.4 million) to 12 billion won.
The company said it intends to speak up as a major shareholder to ensure that management decisions are made appropriately.
With Hoban trailing closely behind, however, Chair Cho appears to have broader support.
US-based Delta Air Lines holds 14.9 percent and plays a key role as Korean Air's joint venture partner. Earlier this month, the two carriers deepened their alliance by acquiring stakes in WestJet, Canada's second-largest airline. Korean Air took 10 percent, while Delta secured 15 percent.
State-run Korea Development Bank, which owns 10.58 percent, is also seen as friendly to Cho's side, having backed Cho in the Korean Air-Asiana Airlines merger.
In 2020, KDB purchased approximately 500 billion won worth of Hanjin KAL common shares through a third-party allotment and acquired 300 billion won in exchangeable bonds backed by Korean Air stock.
The prospect of a power struggle jolted the market into swift motion. Shares of Hanjin KAL soared, hitting the daily upper limit for two consecutive days. The stock surged by 29.94 percent, reaching 150,600 won on Wednesday and extending a sharp rally from Tuesday's close of 115,900 won. Its preferred shares also reached the daily ceiling.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
6 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Xinhua Silk Road: E. China's Weihai Economic and Technological Development Zone launches cultural and tourism experience programs targeting tourists from ROK
BEIJING, Aug. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- By seizing the opportunity of China's visa-free policy for the Republic of Korea (ROK), the Weihai Economic and Technological Development Zone in east China's Shandong Province has launched "tourism+sports" programs to attract tourists from the ROK and further stimulate the vitality of cultural and tourism consumption. As the "bridgehead" for Weihai's cooperation with the ROK, the Weihai Economic and Technological Development Zone has seen the country as its major source of overseas tourists. Targeting the personalized needs of tourists from the ROK for golf playing, the Zone has built a standardized golf course which is equipped with professional coaches, bilingual services between Chinese and Korean, coffee and casual dining options, etc. On the first day of its operation which fell on July 7 this year, the golf course received its first tour group consisting of over 140 tourists from the ROK. Apart from the integrated development of tourism, sports and culture, Wehai has also been focusing on building a distinctive inbound tourism product system since the beginning of this year. Meanwhile, it has carried out cultural and tourism promotion activities in key overseas tourist markets, and encouraged travel agencies to increase efforts in attracting tourists from overseas markets. As a result, more than 10 batches of large groups of tourists from the ROK have been attracted to visit the city since the beginning of this year. From January to May this year, the city ranked first in Shandong Province in terms of the increase in the number of inbound tourists received.
Korea Herald
12 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Korean battery-makers operate at half capacity amid mounting Chinese competition
Korea's top three battery-makers -- LG Energy Solution, SK On and Samsung SDI -- operated at around 50 percent capacity in the first half of 2025, amid aggressive expansion by Chinese competitors in global electric vehicle markets. According to LG Energy Solution's half-year report released Thursday, the company maintained an average utilization rate of 51.3 percent, producing roughly 10 trillion won ($7.2 billion) worth of products across its global facilities. The figure has steadily declined from year-round rates of 69.3 percent in 2023 and 57.8 percent in 2024. SK On, by contrast, posted an operational rate of 52.2 percent in the same period, up from 43.6 percent in 2024, but still below 87.7 percent reached in 2023. Its US facilities, which supply batteries for Hyundai Motor Co.'s local production, operated at near full capacity as Hyundai ramped up manufacturing in the country during the first half. Samsung SDI did not disclose the utilization rate for its main EV battery segment, though it reported a 44 percent rate for its small-battery division. Industry estimates, however, place the company's overall operational rate at around 50 percent. Its European plants were believed to have operated at 30 to 40 percent capacity in the first quarter, before gradually recovering in the second. Meanwhile, its US facility under a 50:50 joint venture with automotive conglomerate Stellantis was also estimated to have run at below 60 percent in the first half. Behind the sluggish operation rates of Korean battery companies was the rapid growth of Chinese companies in the global EV sector. According to SNE Research, although global EV battery usage outside China rose 23.8 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2025, the combined market share of the three Korean companies fell 8.1 percentage points to 37.5 percent. LG Energy Solution and SK On posted growth of 2.2 percent and 10.6 percent, producing 43 gigawatt-hours and 19.6 GWh, respectively. They ranked second and third in the market. Samsung SDI, however, recorded a 7.8 percent decline, placing fifth. In contrast, Chinese battery-makers grew far faster than their Korean rivals. CATL and BYD, ranked first and sixth globally, recorded battery usage increases of 33.2 percent and 153 percent, respectively. Three other Chinese companies in the global top 10 also posted annual growth of over 30 percent. To address these challenges, Korean companies have been ramping up research and development efforts. Samsung SDI led R&D spending in the first half, allocating 704 billion won, or 11.1 percent of total sales, up from 7.8 percent a year earlier. LG Energy Solution invested 620 billion won, accounting for 5.2 percent of sales, up from 4.2 percent in 2024. SK On spent about 148 billion won, representing 0.52 percent of sales in the same period.
Korea Herald
14 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Foreign workers in S. Korea face triple the workplace death risk of Korean nationals
Foreign workers in South Korea are dying on the job at rates far higher than Korean nationals. In just the first half of this year, 75 workers lost their lives, according to new government figures. The disparity in fatality rates is stark. Foreign nationals make up just 3.4 percent of South Korea's total workforce, about 1 million out of 29 million workers. Yet they account for between 10 and 15 percent of workplace accident deaths each year. Based on those proportions, the likelihood of dying in a workplace accident is roughly three to four times higher for foreign workers than for Korean nationals. The new figures come from the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, which also tracks injury and illness claims. Between January and June, foreign employees submitted 5,173 claims, up 4.5 percent from 4,950 in the same period in 2024. Most were for accident-related injuries (4,415 cases), while a smaller portion involved occupational diseases (758 cases). During that same period, compensation was approved in 59 of the 75 death cases. Fatal accidents were recognized in nearly every instance (51 approvals out of 53 claims), while occupational disease deaths were far less likely to be approved (8 approvals out of 22 claims). The number of claims from foreign workers has been climbing steadily for years. Annual claims by foreign workers grew from 8,062 in 2020 to more than 10,000 in 2024. Labor experts say this is no coincidence. Many foreign employees are concentrated in sectors with higher accident risks such as construction, manufacturing and agriculture. They also face language barriers, social discrimination and unstable contracts that can make it difficult to demand safer working conditions. Under the current Employment Permit System, changing employers is tightly restricted, even for workers in dangerous environments. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has announced plans to relax these restrictions so that foreign workers can more easily move to safer workplaces. Lee Yong-woo, a senior researcher at the IOM Migration Research and Training Center, said foreign workers face 'a combination of language barriers, social discrimination and unstable employment status' that heightens their risk compared with the broader workforce. He urged authorities to also address 'blind spots' such as workplace safety for undocumented laborers.
