This article was posted on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 3:56 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2025.
Woo Gi-won (33), deputy minister of corporate support and a second-generation owner of SM Group, gave up his pursuit of acquiring CNH through a personal company. This M&A had drawn attention as the first attempt by Woo to acquire management rights through a personal company.
On the 24th, according to legal sources and the investment banking and legal communities, Najin Co. Ltd., Woo's personal company, recently withdrew from the management rights acquisition agreement with CNH. Accordingly, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court determined that CNH could not carry out its repayment plan and decided to exclude and abolish the rehabilitation plan. Exclusion from a rehabilitation plan is a measure taken when it is impossible to carry out the repayment plan due to legal violations, missed deadlines, failure to secure funding, or similar reasons.
CNH had initially selected Najin Co. Ltd. as the final acquirer and was pursuing a rehabilitation plan that would repay debts with the sale proceeds. However, when Najin Co. Ltd. withdrew from the acquisition after forfeiting the deposit, the funding inflow route was blocked, and the court ruled there was no longer any point in maintaining the rehabilitation proceedings.
CNH started as a specialized finance company and expanded into imported car sales, car rentals and the restaurant business. Through its subsidiaries Premier Motors and CNH Premier Rental, it operates imported car sales and rental car businesses. Premier Motors is a dealer that sells the U.S. auto brands Ford and Lincoln in Korea and is currently undergoing corporate rehabilitation proceedings at the Seoul Bankruptcy Court.
CNH has recorded losses for three consecutive years. Last year it posted a net loss of 112 billion won and fell into capital erosion. Last year it attempted to sell management rights twice but failed, and in July it was delisted from the KOSDAQ. Its subsidiary CNH Capital was sold separately to Pine Tree Investment & Management earlier this month.
This year CNH again began work to sell management rights, and Najin Co. Ltd. stepped in as a savior. Najin Co. Ltd. is an unlisted company 100% owned by Woo, which had been borrowing funds from SM Group affiliates to acquire real estate assets. This was the first time it appeared in the corporate M&A market. Najin Co. Ltd. was known to have planned to acquire CNH Premier Rental, which runs a rental car business, and Prisco, a franchise operator, together. CNH holds 100% of the shares of both companies.
SM Group founder Woo Oh-hyun has one son and four daughters, and Woo, the deputy minister, is the youngest. Born in 1992, Woo began practical management training in November 2022 when he took charge of SM Group's shipping sector. He later moved to SM Highplus.
Recently, after stepping down as vice president of Korea Line Corporation, the group's shipping affiliate, and as CEO of SM Highplus, he was appointed earlier this month as SM Group's deputy minister of corporate support. Industry observers expect SM Group's personnel moves will solidify a succession structure centered on Woo.