Three SSANGBANGWOOL Group affiliates—SSANGBANGWOOL, Kanglim, and FUTURE CORE—whose trading was suspended over former chair Kim Sung-tae's embezzlement and breach of trust allegations, will ultimately be delisted.
The Korea Exchange (KRX) said on the 13th that injunction requests filed by SSANGBANGWOOL, Kanglim, and FUTURE CORE with the court to suspend the effect of the delisting decisions were all dismissed, and that settlement trading will begin from the 17th to the 19th. SSANGBANGWOOL will be subject to settlement trading from the 19th to the 27th, and FUTURE CORE and Kanglim from the 17th to the 25th, respectively.
These SSANGBANGWOOL Group affiliates became subject to delisting after July 2023, when the former chair was indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust and embezzlement). The former chair was accused of causing SSANGBANGWOOL to buy VIVIEN shares held by Kanglim at prices above fair value, thereby conferring undue benefits on Kanglim.
The amount involved in the former chair's alleged embezzlement and breach of trust is 9.84 billion won. This corresponds to 7.1% of SSANGBANGWOOL's equity capital and, under the Korea Exchange's listing rules for the KOSPI market, constitutes grounds for a substantive review of listing eligibility.
The former chair was also implicated in the so-called "SSANGBANGWOOL illegal remittance to North Korea case," in which $8 million was allegedly paid on behalf of North Korea in 2019 at the request of former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Peace Lee Hwa-young.
Afterward, SSANGBANGWOOL submitted a management improvement plan to the exchange, but after a comprehensive review, the exchange made a final decision in February this year to delist.
Kanglim and FUTURE CORE received delisting decisions due to fund transactions among related parties and damage to management transparency. The companies filed for injunctions with the court to suspend the effect of the delisting decisions, but the court did not accept them.
SSANGBANGWOOL Group began dismantling the group early this year. In January, it sold SSANGBANGWOOL to the beauty company Nature Republic, and the subsidiaries moved to independent management.