This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 4:17 p.m. on Aug. 20, 2026.
A management control dispute surrounding KOSDAQ-listed VenueG(019010) has wrapped up after about four years. Bae Jin-han, head of Noblesse Investment and known as a "super ant," has continued trying to take part in management since buying VenueG equity in 2022, targeting the current leadership. But the side of founder Chairman Kim Man-jin succeeded in defending control, and as VenueG's investments in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix turned into a windfall at the same time, the dispute appears to have moved toward a conclusion.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 20th, Bae recently changed his purpose for holding VenueG equity from influencing management control to simple investment. It is interpreted as effectively abandoning his push to join the board and otherwise take part in management that he had been demanding.
Bae is a figure who has been active in the stock market while running a side-dish shopping mall in the 2000s. He made big profits by investing in Daedong Machinery, Daeryuk Can and Kukil Paper, earning a reputation among investors as a "super ant." He is also well known by the online community nickname "side-dish store." Bae later stopped directly running the side-dish shopping mall and founded Noblesse Invest to operate in the capital markets. Recently, he reportedly led a push into the defense industry by investing in KOSDAQ-listed 더큐브앤 and RNT-X(123010).
Bae's ties with VenueG date back four years to 2022. Starting with an April disclosure that year that he held 6.05% of VenueG equity, he shifted the purpose of holding shares to "influencing management control" in 2023, launching shareholder activism. At the time, he stressed that VenueG had damaged shareholder value by incurring large losses on investments using company funds.
After becoming VenueG's second-largest shareholder, Bae sent shareholder proposals to the management of VenueG demanding higher dividends and the cancellation of treasury shares, and pushed to join the VenueG board himself and to appoint his older brother, Bae Ju-han, as auditor. However, most of Bae's attempts were voted down at shareholder meetings, resulting only in the appointment of some auditors.
The management control dispute between Bae and VenueG's leadership peaked last year. At the end of last year, Bae filed a lawsuit seeking court approval to convene a shareholder meeting and demanded the dismissal of VenueG Chairman Kim Man-jin and the appointment of Bae Ju-han as auditor. But those attempts also ultimately fell through.
Even so, the four-year management control dispute is expected to effectively end with Bae's change in the purpose of holding equity. It is the first change in his holding purpose in the four years since the initial 2022 equity disclosure, and three years since declaring participation in management control in 2023.
The backdrop to Bae stepping back from the prolonged management control dispute appears to be VenueG's recent stock trend. VenueG's share price had hovered around 2,000 won since 2022, but it has been rising since early this year. In May, it hit an intraday high of 7,300 won, and it is currently moving sideways in the 5,000-won range.
The recent trend in VenueG's share price is thanks to the rise in the value of its investment equity. VenueG exited one of its core businesses, department stores, and has strengthened investment in wedding halls and golf courses while also being active in stock investments. In particular, it has taken an aggressive investment stance in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, whose share prices have risen sharply recently. Based on current prices, the value of Samsung Electronics shares held by VenueG is estimated at about 400 billion won, and SK hynix at about 60 billion won. With asset value standing out as high compared with VenueG's current market capitalization of 250 billion won, the share price is being supported.
In the industry, some say that because Bae launched the management control dispute due to VenueG leadership's investment failures, there is no longer a need to continue the fight. With recent share gains increasing the potential profit Bae can realize, it may be more advantageous to unwind equity than to secure management control.
An investment banking (IB) industry source said, "Bae's equity is not even 10%, and with the existing largest shareholder side holding more than 50%, the management control dispute was likely an attempt to push up the stock price," adding, "With this change in the purpose of holding equity, the management control dispute will end, and Bae is expected to exit afterward."