Han Soo-hyun (35), the eldest son of Han Seung-wook, chairman of DS Sangseok, has sold shares in DS Sangseok for two consecutive days.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system, Han sold 130,000 shares of DS Sangseok over the course of two days on the 11th and 12th. This reduced Han's equity stake in DS Sangseok from 4.2% to 3.46% (608,186 shares). Han gained approximately 6 billion won from this share sale.
DS Sangseok, listed on the securities market at the end of last year, is a mid-sized company that generates an annual revenue of 1 trillion won. It engages in the production of transportation fuel from waste cooking oil and operates in the bioenergy and battery and plastic recycling sectors.
Currently, owner Han Seung-wook is leading DS Sangseok, while the third generation, Han Soo-hyun, is overseeing management planning under his father. Han is the largest shareholder, holding 36.44% of the equity in DS Sangseok.
Industry insiders do not view Han's sale of 6 billion won worth of shares merely as cashing out or realizing profits.
If an owner family member who is well-informed about the company’s management sells company shares, it could send a negative signal to the market that ‘the corporate growth value is declining, prompting the share sale.’
Rather, it is common for owner families to emphasize responsible management by purchasing shares during important times such as year-end, sending a positive signal to the market regarding corporate growth.
For this reason, owner families and key executives clarify the purpose of the sale when they need to sell their shares to prevent negative impacts on the market. However, DS Sangseok did not disclose any purpose in Han's ‘report on changes in ownership shares’ announced on the 11th and 12th.
Yoo Ho-sang, director of the Unicorn Management and Economics Research Institute, noted, “Financial investors (FIs) sell shares for profit realization purposes, but broadly speaking, it is very rare for owner families, who are classified as strategic investors (SIs), to sell their held shares solely for profit realization. This is because the owner family, who knows the most about the company and is responsible for its management, merely selling their held shares can be interpreted as a signal to other shareholders that they should also sell their shares or that there is a problem within the company.”
Meanwhile, DS Sangseok reported a cumulative revenue of 743.9 billion won for the third quarter of this year, an 8% decrease compared to the same period last year. Operating profit plummeted by 76% to 15.4 billion won. In particular, the core bioenergy sector shifted to a loss. The share price of DS Sangseok, which recorded 290,000 won in early January, is currently hovering in the mid-40,000 won range.