Gumi-hyun Chairman "Transfer Management Rights to Specialized Company"... Officially Announces Sale of Ourhome

Declaration of Intent to Sell in Inaugural Speech
"Formalizing Employee Employment Succession and Status Guarantee"
Actively Addressing Issues Arising from Sibling Conflict

Gumi-hyun Koo, the new chairman of Ourhome, a meal service company, expressed the view that it is desirable to sell the company to end the repeated shareholder management disputes.

On the 19th, Chairman Koo delivered a greeting to employees through Ourhome's internal bulletin board, stating, "I have determined that the fundamental way to end the shareholder management disputes is to transfer management rights to a professional company that pursues rational company management by professional managers, i.e., sustainable business development."

Ourhome Magok Food Research Center Exterior
[Photo by Ourhome]

He added, "When transferring the shares of major shareholders including myself to a competent professional company, we will formalize the succession of employment and status guarantees for current Ourhome employees," and "until then, we will continue to follow the personnel policy by selecting talented individuals who have quietly contributed to the company's development for a long time, providing them with ample opportunities to demonstrate their abilities, and actively reflecting the opinions of the labor union in the process."

Chairman Koo is the eldest daughter among the one son and three daughters of the late Koo Ja-hak, the founder of Ourhome. After joining as an inside director at the regular shareholders' meeting in April, she was appointed as the representative director and chairman through the board meeting held the day before. This is the first time Chairman Koo has participated in Ourhome's management. Her husband, Lee Young-yeol, who joined as a new inside director of Ourhome, was appointed vice chairman in the new management personnel. Additionally, Lee Young-pyo, who has worked at Ourhome for over 30 years since 1993 and previously served as secretary to the late founder and head of the management support division (CFO), was appointed as the president of overall management.

Ourhome is a company where the owner family, consisting of four siblings, holds more than 98% of the shares. The eldest son, former vice chairman Koo Bon-sung, holds 38.56%, eldest daughter Chairman Koo holds 19.28%, second daughter Koo Myung-jin holds 19.6%, and youngest daughter former vice chairman Koo Ji-eun holds 20.67%. These shareholders have been in conflict over management rights for over seven years since 2017.

Chairman Koo explained the background of her stepping into the management front line, saying, "For the sake of the founder's spirit and Ourhome's development, I could not overlook the company's internal and external image deterioration and decline in growth momentum caused by the management disputes that have continued since 2016."

She also actively clarified issues surrounding her regarding dividend payments amid the management disputes. Chairman Koo stated, "At the 2020 shareholders' meeting, the shareholder who proposed the highest-ever dividend was another shareholder, and all other shareholders approved it, so it was passed," and added, "At the 2023 shareholders' meeting, another shareholder proposed an increase in dividends, but the rest of the shareholders including myself opposed it, so it was rejected." She further said, "Regarding issues such as dividends reported in the media until recently, I did not publicly clarify them out of respect for the founder's honor, but I now want to correct any inaccuracies."

Chairman Koo concluded her greeting by saying, "Ourhome's current growth is thanks to all employees, and as the CEO, I believe it is my responsibility to protect employees so that they can continue to fully demonstrate their abilities stably within the company in the future."