The labor union of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) issued a statement on the 7th opposing Hanwha Group's expansion of KAI equity and participation in management.
The KAI union issued a statement that day, saying, "We can never tolerate a competitor's attempt to participate in management," and added, "We will strongly block the expansion of influence over core decision-making structures, including participation on the board, interference in personnel matters, and involvement in business direction." It continued, "If combined with the acquisition-and-merger methods that have been repeated so far, it could damage KAI's managerial independence and industrial base."
Hanwha Aerospace (Hanwha Aerospace) acquired an additional 100,000 KAI shares (0.1%) on the 4th. Previously, Hanwha Aerospace disclosed in March that, together with subsidiaries such as Hanwha Systems, it had secured 4.99% of KAI equity, and with the additional purchase on the 4th, Hanwha Group's KAI equity stands at 5.09%. Accordingly, Hanwha Aerospace changed the purpose of holding KAI equity from "simple investment" to "management participation."
The KAI union defined Hanwha Group's equity purchase as "an infiltration of control over KAI." The KAI union said, "Declaring an intention to participate in management while a competitor has secured equity means putting KAI's core decision-making structure under their interests," and added, "A structure will inevitably be created in which core information such as business strategy, bidding plans, and research and development direction becomes connected to external interests."
The KAI union said, "The structure linking Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Systems, and Hanwha Ocean already forms vertical integration across the defense industry," and warned, "In this situation, if KAI also falls within their sphere of influence, weakened market competition, increased internal transactions, and distortion of the industrial ecosystem will be unavoidable." It also emphasized, "If an attempt to acquire (management control) through (additional) equity expansion materializes, we will mobilize every possible measure to protect KAI's independence and industrial base."