Hanjin Former Executives Association "Full Trust and Support for Cho Won-tae Regime"

"Kang Sung-boo, Malicious Distortion of Group Management Status... Anger and Concern"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] The Former Executives Association of Hanjin Group announced on the 21st, "We fully trust and support the current professional management team led by Chairman Cho Won-tae."

The Former Executives Association released a statement on the same day, saying, "We could not contain our anger beyond concern upon witnessing KCGI CEO Kang Sung-bu maliciously distorting the group's management during the press conference held by the three-party shareholder coalition consisting of former Korean Air Vice President Cho Hyun-ah, private equity fund KCGI, and Bando Construction."

The Former Executives Association stated, "The current management of Hanjin Group, including Chairman Cho, is composed of experts who have accumulated decades of top-level experience and know-how not only in the domestic aviation and logistics sectors but also on the global stage," adding, "In particular, the aviation industry, Hanjin Group's core business, involves complex and intricate elements such as flight operations, cabin services, and maintenance working collaboratively and organically linked. Therefore, excluding the current management with expertise and replacing them with external personnel unfamiliar with this field is unacceptable."

Regarding the shareholder coalition, the Former Executives Association criticized, "The coalition is nothing but a collusion revealing the true nature of typical speculative forces: former major shareholders, private equity funds that discard legitimacy for profit maximization, and investors unrelated to the industry attempting to shake up management rights," and expressed regret that "some former group members have joined."

They added, "Speculative forces with no experience or know-how in airline operations will clearly resort to restructuring to break the company into pieces for short-term gains, and implement squeezing management such as excessive personnel restructuring," emphasizing, "Hanjin Group, which has been responsible for Korea's transportation and logistics industry for 75 years, must not be shaken by external forces."

The Former Executives Association also urged, "In the current crisis, all members of Hanjin Group must unite and make their best efforts so that the precious foundation built by founder Cho Jung-hoon and former Chairman Cho Yang-ho can grow into a more stable and sound company," and sincerely appealed, "We earnestly hope that the current management will stabilize management through stronger family unity and carry on the legacy of the late Chairman Cho Yang-ho."