[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The government is pushing forward with a plan to sell Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), which effectively became a public enterprise after entering workout immediately following the foreign exchange crisis, to the Hanwha Group. Attention is focused on whether the sale process will come to a close 14 years after Hanwha was selected as the preferred bidder in 2008.
According to related ministries, on the morning of the 26th, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Financial Services Commission, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a meeting of ministers related to strengthening industrial competitiveness at the Export-Import Bank of Korea in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, to discuss the handling plan for DSME. It is reported that at the meeting, Kang Seok-hoon, chairman of KDB Industrial Bank, reported on the plan to sell DSME to Hanwha Group. Depending on the conclusion of this meeting, KDB Industrial Bank plans to resolve the handling plan through an extraordinary board meeting on the same day. KDB Industrial Bank is the largest shareholder, holding 55.7% of DSME’s shares.
The following summarizes the process from DSME entering workout as Daewoo Heavy Industries in 1999 to the push for DSME’s sale.
▲ August 26, 1999 = Announcement of workout for Daewoo Heavy Industries
▲ October 23, 2000 = Daewoo Heavy Industries split into Daewoo Shipbuilding & Engineering, Daewoo Heavy Machinery, and Daewoo Heavy Industries as separate corporations
▲ August 23, 2001 = Daewoo Shipbuilding & Engineering graduates from workout
▲ March 16, 2002 = Name changed to Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME)
▲ March 26, 2008 = KDB Industrial Bank announces sale of DSME
▲ October 24, 2008 = KDB Industrial Bank announces Hanwha as preferred bidder for DSME sale
▲ January 21, 2009 = DSME sale falls through
▲ October 10, 2010 = DSME declares goal to achieve KRW 40 trillion in sales by 2020
▲ June 25, 2015 = Jung Sung-rip, then president of DSME, hints at reflecting losses from offshore plants in performance
▲ July 29, 2015 = DSME announces provisional Q2 loss of KRW 3.0318 trillion
▲ August 11, 2015 = DSME announces self-rescue plan including 30% reduction in executives and disposal of non-core subsidiaries
▲ October 29, 2015 = KDB Industrial Bank announces KRW 4.2 trillion support plan to normalize DSME
▲ June 9, 2016 = Government finalizes restructuring plan for three shipbuilders
▲ July 5, 2016 = DSME announces eight-point reform plan
▲ July 18, 2016 = Prosecutors arrest former DSME president Nam Sang-tae on embezzlement charges
▲ October 30, 2016 = Government announces plan to strengthen shipbuilding industry competitiveness by reducing production capacity by 30% and selling major assets and subsidiaries
▲ November 10, 2016 = KDB Industrial Bank and Export-Import Bank provide additional capital injection of KRW 2.8 trillion to DSME
▲ November 17, 2016 = DSME submits 'additional labor-management confirmation for business normalization' to KDB Industrial Bank
▲ December 2, 2016 = Prosecutors arrest former KDB Industrial Bank chairman Kang Man-soo on bribery charges
▲ December 29, 2016 = KDB Industrial Bank converts KRW 1.8 trillion to equity; Export-Import Bank purchases KRW 1 trillion in perpetual bonds
▲ March 15, 2017 = DSME announces 2016 operating loss of KRW 1.5308 trillion and net loss of KRW 2.7895 trillion
▲ March 23, 2017 = Government decides on new support of KRW 2.9 trillion for DSME
▲ April 6, 2017 = DSME labor and management agree to an additional 10% wage sacrifice by all employees
▲ April 12, 2017 = Commercial banks agree on debt restructuring and new financial support sharing plan
▲ May 4, 2017 = 99% of employees at five subsidiaries voluntarily participate in wage sacrifice
▲ June 28, 2017 = Issuance of KRW 1.2848 trillion in Export-Import Bank perpetual bonds and KRW 792.8 billion debt-to-equity conversion by creditors
▲ March 22, 2018 = DSME records operating profit of KRW 733 billion in 2017, returning to profitability since 2011 and removed from management watch list
▲ January 31, 2019 = KDB Industrial Bank promotes privatization by contributing DSME shares in kind to Hyundai Heavy Industries
▲ February 19, 2019 = DSME labor union approves strike
▲ May 31, 2019 = Hyundai Heavy Industries’ intermediate holding company (Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering) and business company (newly established Hyundai Heavy Industries) approve physical split at general meeting
▲ July 1, 2019 = KDB Industrial Bank signs share sale agreement with Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and DSME
▲ October 25, 2019 = Kazakhstan competition authority approves without conditions
▲ August 25, 2020 = Singapore competition authority approves without conditions
▲ December 21, 2020 = China competition authority approves without conditions
▲ January 13, 2022 = European Union rejects merger citing concerns over LNG carrier market monopoly
▲ January 13, 2022 = Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering voluntarily withdraws merger notification submitted to the Fair Trade Commission; officially halts acquisition of DSME
▲ June 7, 2022 = Kang Seok-hoon, former policy special advisor to presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl, appointed chairman of KDB Industrial Bank
▲ September 15, 2022 = At a 100-day meeting after his inauguration, Kang Seok-hoon emphasizes quick sale of DSME
▲ September 26, 2022 = Industrial and economic ministers’ meeting discusses plan to sell DSME to Hanwha
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