Former Executive Director Park Cheol-wan Files Appeal
"Claims OCI and Treasury Stock Exchange Invalid"
Former Kumho Petrochemical executive Park Cheol-wan, who is currently engaged in a lawsuit against Kumho Petrochemical to invalidate the disposal of treasury shares, recently submitted a notice of appeal to the Supreme Court. Attention is focused on Park, who has lost multiple times in management rights disputes but continues to persist and fuel controversy.
According to industry sources on the 21st, Park submitted the notice of appeal to the Seoul High Court on the 18th, expressing his determination to continue the legal battle until the end. Park had previously lost in both the first and second trials.
Park is the son of the late Park Jeong-gu, the second son of Kumho Group founder Park In-cheon, and is the largest individual shareholder of Kumho Petrochemical with 9.51%. He is the nephew of Park Chan-gu, chairman of Kumho Petrochemical. Currently, Chairman Park holds 7.46% of the shares, while his son, President Park Jun-kyung, and daughter, Vice President Park Ju-hyung, hold 7.99% and 1.09%, respectively.
Industry insiders interpret Park’s persistence in pushing the case to the final trial despite two losses as an attempt to highlight the value of his shares.
An industry official said, "Although Park is the largest individual shareholder, it is difficult for him to secure management rights or control the board of directors under the current circumstances. It appears that he aims to imprint his presence inside and outside the company to sell his shares under favorable conditions in the long term." However, it is reported that Park’s side has not yet expressed any intention to sell shares to Kumho Petrochemical.
The legal battle between uncle and nephew began in June 2022. In December 2021, Kumho P&B Chemicals, a subsidiary of Kumho Petrochemical, and OCIMSB, the Malaysian subsidiary of OCI Group, finalized the establishment of OCI Kumho, an eco-friendly bio-epichlorohydrin (ECH) joint venture, and exchanged treasury shares worth 31.5 billion KRW to strengthen their strategic partnership. At that time, 171,847 common shares of Kumho Petrochemical and 298,900 common shares of OCI were swapped.
Park’s side filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Central District Court the following year, claiming that the disposal of treasury shares to OCI Group was intended to secure friendly shares amid ongoing management disputes.
However, both the first and second trial courts ruled against Park. The courts dismissed the claim, stating that "it is not permissible for Park and others to assert the invalidity of the disposal of treasury shares, which is a legal act involving Kumho Petrochemical as a party." The dismissal means that Park was deemed to lack standing due to procedural deficiencies. The second trial ruling issued at the end of last month reached the same conclusion.
Park Chan-gu, Chairman of Kumho Petrochemical.
Meanwhile, Park engaged in management rights disputes at shareholder meetings three times in 2021, 2022, and this year but failed each time. At the shareholder meeting in March, he delegated shareholder proposal rights to Cha Partners and demanded the cancellation of all treasury shares, but the proposal was rejected by a significant margin.
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