"Shareholders Without Management Rights Pursuing Private Interests"… Ourhome Strongly Criticizes Former Vice Chairman Koo Bonseong

The conflict between Ourhome and former Vice Chairman Gu Bonseong over the scale of dividends is intensifying. After former Vice Chairman Gu stated that his demand for 296.6 billion KRW in dividends was intended to "enhance the efficiency of share sales," Ourhome strongly criticized him, saying he was "pursuing private interests."

On the 31st, Ourhome stated in a press release, "At the 2022 regular shareholders' meeting, former Vice Chairman Gu also demanded a dividend payment of 100 billion KRW, and this year he is demanding dividends exceeding 10 times the net profit, about 290 billion KRW, showing an attitude that prioritizes pursuing private interests, which raises serious concerns."

Ourhome added, "He claims that the dividend proposal was made to enhance the efficiency of share sales, but the dividend amount exceeds 10 times the company's profits, and if the dividend proposal is approved, borrowings for payment will increase significantly, becoming a decisive obstacle to share sales. Regarding the retained earnings mentioned, they are cumulative figures of profits since the company's founding and are generally invested in company growth and assets, so they cannot be used solely for dividends?this is common sense that anyone can understand."

They continued, "A shareholder without management rights is now talking about a full sale, causing anxiety not only among our employees but also among client companies that trust and receive services from us, shaking the livelihoods of 10,000 employees," they criticized.

Goo Bon-sung, former Vice Chairman of Ourhome. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Ourhome’s owners, consisting of one son and three daughters, hold more than 98% of the total shares. Former Vice Chairman Gu, the eldest son of the late founder Gu Jahak, holds 38.6% of the shares, while Vice Chairman Gu Jieun and her sisters Mihyun and Myeongjin collectively hold 59.6%. Former Vice Chairman Gu was ousted and dismissed in June 2021 during a management rights dispute. At that time, among the three sisters who pushed out former Vice Chairman Gu, current Vice Chairman Gu Jieun was appointed as the sole CEO. The conflict over management rights continued afterward. During last year's extraordinary shareholders' meeting, Vice Chairman Gu successfully defended her management rights, temporarily calming the conflict, but the dispute flared up again over the scale of dividends.

Former Vice Chairman Gu’s side stated in a press release the day before, "Ourhome currently has accumulated retained earnings exceeding 500 billion KRW, so the dividend proposal was made to enhance the efficiency of share sales," and added, "It is a distortion of facts to say that Honorary Chairman Gu Bonseong will receive more than 100 billion KRW if the shareholder proposal passes." Ourhome’s eldest daughter, Gu Mihyun, reportedly followed former Vice Chairman Gu’s proposal by demanding a dividend payment of 45.6 billion KRW to shareholders on the 24th. Considering Ourhome’s net profit last year was about 25 billion KRW, the eldest daughter and eldest son of the owner family are demanding dividends approximately 2 times and 12 times that amount, respectively. The company has announced it will pay a total dividend of 3 billion KRW. The matter is expected to be addressed at the shareholders' meeting on the 4th of next month.