This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) website at 8:23 a.m. on Jun. 4, 2026.
Korea Development Bank (KDB) will begin a value in use assessment to conduct an impairment test on HMM common shares. The move comes as HMM's headquarters transfer to Busan is effectively confirmed, prompting views in the market that it could be preparatory work with a future relaunch of the sale in mind. Some analysts, however, say a swift resumption of the sale is unlikely, as KDB is handling multiple restructuring issues at the same time.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 4th, KDB recently distributed a request for proposal (RFP) to accounting firms and others to calculate the value in use and fair value of HMM common shares. The core of this work is the value in use assessment of the 334,133,427 HMM common shares held by KDB. Based on this, KDB plans to check whether the equity is impaired.
An impairment test is an accounting procedure that checks whether the book value of an asset exceeds the amount that can actually be recovered. The recoverable amount is generally determined as the higher of value in use and fair value minus costs of disposal. Among these, value in use is calculated by discounting to present value the cash flows the company is expected to generate in the future, comprehensively evaluating not just the current share price but medium- to long-term profitability, business outlook, and future cash-generating capacity.
This assessment covers the entirety of KDB's HMM equity. KDB took part in HMM's treasury share tender offer last year and disposed of a portion of its equity, but it still holds 334,133,427 shares (35.42%). Based on the closing price on the 2nd (19,480 won), the value of KDB's holding amounts to about 6.5 trillion won.
Some in the industry say the work could carry significance beyond a routine accounting step. That is because a value in use assessment involves a detailed analysis of HMM's long-term operating value and cash-generating power rather than its share price at a given point. If an equity sale is pursued, the assessment could serve as reference material in price negotiations with potential buyers or during reviews of corporate value.
KDB has long cited the headquarters transfer as a key prerequisite in its push to privatize HMM. At a press briefing in Feb., KDB Chairman Park Sang-jin said of the HMM sale, "We will push ahead after the Busan transfer is completed." Since then, HMM effectively wrapped up the Busan transfer issue through labor-management agreement, and it has also completed the registration procedures to change its registered address.
The market is focusing on the fact that KDB launched a reassessment of HMM's equity value immediately after the major variable of the headquarters transfer was resolved. Since talks to sell to the Harim–JKL Partners consortium fell through in 2023, conditions are forming for privatization work—effectively halted since then—to be discussed again.
Some, however, say it is premature to read this as an immediate signal that the sale will resume. KDB is simultaneously pushing ahead with major tasks such as restructuring in the petrochemical sector and the sale of KDB Life Insurance. In addition, as financial authorities decided to temporarily ease the impact of HMM share price fluctuations in calculating the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) capital adequacy ratio, KDB has little incentive to rush an equity sale.
An industry source said, "An impairment test itself is an accounting necessity, but in effect it is a reassessment of HMM's appropriate value," adding, "Given that it is taking place after the headquarters transfer issue was settled, some in the market are interpreting it in connection with the possibility of a sale going forward."