This article was published on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 10:58 a.m. on Nov. 26, 2025.
HanWool & Jeju (formerly Jeju Beer Company) welcomed a new owner about a year after last December. It is the third change of majority shareholder in a year and a half since the largest shareholder changed to Double HM in May last year and to HanWool Semiconductor in November last year. Massive investments made over the past year ended in failure, effectively leaving the company insolvent and transferring control once again. It is reported that behind the investment group that invested this time is Won Young-sik, chairman of Ocean In W (formerly the chairman of Chorokbaem Group), who was recently imprisoned.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service electronic disclosure system, K Partners No. 1 investment association secured 6,472,491 shares of HanWool & Jeju through a third-party allotment rights offering. The price per share was 1,854 won, totaling 12 billion won. With payment completed as of the 25th, K Partners No. 1 investment association became the largest shareholder of HanWool & Jeju.
HanWool & Jeju listed on the KOSDAQ market in 2021 riding the craft beer boom, but its ownership has changed repeatedly as business performance deteriorated. Beginning with the company's sale in May last year to Double HM, a company engaged in automobile repair and parts distribution due to management difficulties, HanWool Semiconductor, a semiconductor inspection equipment firm, became the largest shareholder again in December last year, six months later.
HanWool Semiconductor changed the company name from Jeju Beer Company to HanWool & Jeju at the time and sought to diversify beyond beer brewing, but there were no results. Since early this year it has successively acquired Frozen Kimbap maker Olgod, venture capital firm KIB Ventures, and REIT operator STAR SM REIT, but these did not lead to actual business improvement.
Despite making large investments during this period, the company's operating performance worsened. Cash and cash equivalents of about 10.4 billion won at the end of last year fell to about 5.3 billion won in the third quarter this year, nearly halving. Most of the decreased cash and cash equivalents appear to have been used as investment assets. HanWool & Jeju's other current financial assets rose about fivefold from 2.7 billion won to 13.6 billion won over the same period. This essentially means the company's financial strategy focused more on investment than on operations.
Nonetheless, the company has only recorded losses instead of investment gains. Olgod, in which HanWool & Jeju invested 5 billion won, recorded a net loss of 744 million won last year, making it difficult to expect investment returns. KIB Ventures, which changed its name to JK Ventures, has shown no notable activity, and STAR SM REIT, acquired through a subsidiary, failed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's key investor eligibility screening and now faces having to resell part of the 13.05% equity it had already secured.
Meanwhile, the core beer-brewing business has steadily worsened. HanWool & Jeju's operating loss for the third quarter this year was about 962 million won, nearly double the 500 million won operating loss in the same period last year. With growing pressure from borrowings, net loss for the period also rose nearly threefold from about 700 million won to 2.2 billion won over the same period. This is largely due to financial costs, including interest expenses from capital raising and valuation losses on assets, increasing from 258 million won to 1.067 billion won.
With HanWool & Jeju effectively insolvent and welcoming a new owner, interest in the buyer has grown. Because K Partners No. 1 investment association is a partnership structure, it is difficult to identify the individuals actually behind it.
Capital market sources say Won Young-sik is behind the change of HanWool & Jeju's largest shareholder. Won is a figure who was detained in 2023 on charges of stock manipulation using Bithumb affiliates and breach of trust. He is now actively investing in the KOSDAQ market using funds secured from the sale of Chorokbaem Media. Unlike the past when he was at the forefront as a strategic investor (SI), he has recently invested mainly as a financial investor (FI). It is reported that Won participated as an FI in the HanWool & Jeju investment.
In this change of control, not only was there a paid-in capital increase but also the sale of bond warrants (BW). HanWool Semiconductor sold 10 billion won worth of BW it held to a corporation called Green Street. Converted into shares, this equals 4,757,849 shares, enough to become the second-largest shareholder. Industry sources say K Partners No. 1 investment association and Green Street are known as friendly forces.
However, the identity of the party that will run HanWool & Jeju going forward remains veiled. Industry sources say a well-known domestic bakery company participated as an SI. That company, however, said it is not related to the acquisition of HanWool & Jeju.
A person familiar with the deal said, "I understand this investment was made through mediation by Chairman Won," and added, "A total of 30 billion won is expected to be injected, including the paid-in capital increase, BW acquisition, and a future convertible bond (CB) issuance of 10 billion won."