Hanwha 3rd Generation Kim Dong-seon Accelerates Company Stock Buyback... Purchased Over 5.5 Billion Won in One Year

Bought shares on all trading days in December last year and March, April this year
Hanwha Galleria's 2nd largest shareholder...interpreted as strengthening position within the group

Kim Dong-sun, the third son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-yeon and Vice President of Hanwha Galleria Strategy Headquarters, has been accelerating his purchases of company shares since last year. Recently, he has also been actively leading new businesses such as food tech, which is analyzed as a foundation to strengthen his position within the group.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 22nd, Vice President Kim purchased company shares a total of 137 times from April last year to the 10th of this month. Kim first bought 50,000 shares of Hanwha Galleria on April 12 last year, about a month after Hanwha Galleria was newly listed following a spin-off from Hanwha Solutions, and has been expanding his holdings since then. The total number of shares he purchased amounts to 4,499,860 shares, with a purchase amount reaching 5.58818 billion KRW.

In particular, since October last year, share purchases have been made almost daily. In February this year, he bought shares on 15 out of 19 business days, and in November last year, he purchased shares on 21 out of 22 business days. In December last year and March and April this year, he bought company shares every single business day, totaling 19, 20, and 21 days respectively. The month with the highest number of shares purchased was November last year, when he bought 1 million shares, spending a total of 1.09299 billion KRW.

Vice President Kim has currently increased his stake in Hanwha Galleria to 2.29%. Hanwha, the group's holding company, is the largest shareholder with 36.15%, and Kim is the second-largest shareholder. Hanwha Solutions holds 1.37%, and Bukil Academy holds 0.15% respectively.

Although Kim has risen to the position of second-largest shareholder, it is not yet enough to decisively influence the governance structure. However, the distribution industry views Kim's share purchases as an effort to expand the group's distribution sector, based on Hanwha Galleria and Hanwha Hotels & Resorts, into other areas.

Hanwha Foodtech, a food solution company under Hanwha Galleria, opened a research and development (R&D) center in Pangyo on the 21st. Hanwha Foodtech plans to carry out brand launch preparations here using robot technology from the U.S. pizza brand 'Stella Pizza,' which it acquired in February. In particular, it plans various collaborations in the future, including utilizing collaborative robot technology with Hanwha Robotics, headquartered in Pangyo.

Kim Seung-yeon, Chairman of Hanwha Group (center), visited the headquarters of Hanwha Robotics in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on the 5th of last month and took a commemorative photo with employees. On the far left is Vice President Kim Dong-seon. Photo by Hanwha Group [Image source=Yonhap News]

Chairman Kim Seung-yeon visited the Hanwha Robotics headquarters with Vice President Kim early last month to check the status of robot technology. This marked Chairman Kim's return to the management field after 5 years and 4 months; his last visit was to attend the inauguration ceremony of Hanwha Aerospace's Vietnam factory in December 2018.

The dining brand Five Guys, launched by Vice President Kim last year, has also successfully settled. Chairman Kim had lunch with employees at Five Guys during his visit to Hanwha Robotics. Five Guys recorded sales of 10.42885 billion KRW last year and posted sales of 8.7 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year. Hanwha Galleria plans to open more than 15 stores mainly in the metropolitan area over the next five years.

Regarding its core business department stores, Hanwha Galleria was re-listed in March last year, making it difficult to compare performance with the previous year. However, foreign sales at Galleria Seoul Luxury Hall in the first quarter of this year increased by 116% compared to the same period last year. Hanwha Galleria expects to break its record this year if this trend continues.

A Hanwha Galleria official said, "Vice President Kim Dong-sun's purchase of company shares is being carried out as part of responsible management," adding, "In addition to buying shares, he is also dedicated to discovering new businesses to improve profits."