[Wealth Succession] Pine Group, Second Generation Owner Becomes 340 Billion Won Group Owner with 1.5 Billion Won Amid Plunge

Second Generation Reaches Top of Corporate Governance in Group with Combined Market Cap of 340 Billion
Prepared Through Family Companies Since 2010... Stock Price Decline Seen as 'Opportunity'

Hong Seongcheon, Chairman of Pine Group.

The largest shareholder of Finetechnics has changed from Chairman Hong Seong-cheon to his family company, Codes. After the stock price plummeted, Chairman Hong sold his shares to the family company. The largest shareholder of Codes is Hong Jun-gi, Executive Director of Pine M-Tech and son of Chairman Hong.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 9th, Finetechnics announced that its largest shareholder changed from Chairman Hong Seong-cheon of Pine Group to Codes. Chairman Hong transferred 1.4 million shares (8.79%) to Codes for 1.484 billion KRW. As a result of this transaction, Chairman Hong’s shareholding ratio dropped from 20.18% to 11.39%, while Codes’ stake rose from 3.94% to 12.73%.

The price per share of Finetechnics stock transferred by Chairman Hong to Codes was 1,060 KRW, calculated based on the closing price on the 7th. Finetechnics’ stock price had been moving in the 1,200 KRW range over the past month but fell more than 15% on the 5th when the entire stock market crashed. In response to the price drop, the shares were quickly transferred to Codes.

The largest shareholder of Codes is Hong Jun-gi, Executive Director of Pine M-Tech and son of Chairman Hong, holding 45%. The rest is owned by Chairman Hong and other family members. Codes operates businesses including sales of LCD and LED-related components, real estate leasing, and solar power generation.

Born in 1988, Executive Director Hong Jun-gi worked at Finetechnics from 2016 to 2022 and moved to Pine M-Tech as Executive Director of Corporate Planning after Finetechnics was split into Pine M-Tech. It has been confirmed that he has held shares in Codes since around 2010.

As Executive Director Hong Jun-gi became the de facto largest shareholder of Finetechnics, his control over affiliated companies has significantly expanded. Pine Group has a total of 17 affiliates, including three listed companies: Finetechnics, Pine M-Tech, and Pine D&C. The structure is centered around these three listed companies with unlisted affiliates positioned around them.

Currently, the ownership structure of Pine M-Tech is as follows: Chairman Hong Seong-cheon 16.0%, Finetechnics 6.91%, Pine D&C 5.43%, EMB 3.06%, Codes 2.18%, and Executive Director Hong Jun-gi 0.42%. EMB is a subsidiary of Codes. With Executive Director Hong becoming the largest shareholder of Finetechnics, his effective control amounts to 18% (Finetechnics + Pine D&C + EMB + Codes + personal shares).

Similarly, Executive Director Hong becomes the largest shareholder of Pine D&C through this transaction. The current ownership structure of Pine D&C is Chairman Hong Seong-cheon 15.1%, Pine M-Tech 15.11%, Codes 13.46%, Finetechnics 3.56%, and Executive Director Hong 0.29%. His effective control is 32.42% (Codes + Pine M-Tech + Finetechnics + personal shares).

Thanks to the stock price plunge, Executive Director Hong secured the highest control over all affiliates including Finetechnics, Pine D&C, and Pine M-Tech for 1.5 billion KRW. In terms of market capitalization, he has risen to the top of a group valued at about 340 billion KRW, including Pine M-Tech (268 billion KRW), Pine D&C (55.5 billion KRW), and Finetechnics (16.7 billion KRW).