Reelected Smoothly at the General Meeting Despite National Pension Opposition
Emphasis on Full Effort for Asiana Airlines Merger
Cho Won-tae, chairman of Hanjin Group, was reappointed as CEO at the Korean Air shareholders' meeting without any significant issues despite opposition from the National Pension Service. Chairman Cho stated that he would successfully complete the Asiana Airlines integration and fully embark on preparing the merged airline.
On the 21st, Korean Air passed all five agenda items, including the reappointment of Chairman Cho as an inside director, through the shareholders' meeting. All agenda items were approved smoothly despite opposition from the National Pension Service, the second-largest shareholder of Korean Air with a 7.61% stake.
Previously, the National Pension Service expressed opposition to Chairman Cho's reappointment as an inside director, citing negligence in monitoring shareholder rights violations and excessive compensation. Chairman Cho received a total of 3.91715 billion KRW from Korean Air, including a salary of 3.27755 billion KRW and bonuses of 639.6 million KRW, marking a 64% increase compared to the previous year.
Chairman Cho did not attend the shareholders' meeting in person. Woo Ki-hong, CEO of Korean Air, read Chairman Cho's greeting at the meeting. In his remarks, Chairman Cho expressed confidence regarding the Asiana Airlines merger.
He emphasized, "This year will be the year Korean Air completes the acquisition process of Asiana Airlines and fully begins preparations for the launch of the integrated airline. Although it took longer than expected, the integration of the two airlines will be a significant growth driver in the long term." Currently, Korean Air has received corporate merger approvals from Japanese and European Union (EU) authorities in January and February of this year and is awaiting the results of the U.S. authorities' review.
At a town hall meeting held the day before with employees at Korean Air's headquarters in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, he also mentioned the acquisition of Asiana Airlines. He stated, "We will do our best to achieve a positive outcome in the final hurdle, the review by the U.S. competition authorities," and added, "Once the merger is approved and integration proceeds, Korean Air executives will be instructed to primarily fly on Asiana Airlines aircraft." This is interpreted as an effort to increase Korean Air executives' understanding of Asiana Airlines' service and culture.
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