Kim Ho-yeon, chairman of Binggrae and brother of Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-yeon, sold all his equity in Hanwha Corporation.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 17th, Chairman Kim Ho-yeon sold all 124,567 shares (0.16%) of common stock in Hanwha Corporation through after-hours trading on the 13th. The sale price per share was 39,200 won, totaling 4.883 billion won.
There are various interpretations in the securities industry regarding this. The most common interpretation is that Hanwha's stock has risen sufficiently, prompting the sale. This year, Hanwha's stock has been steadily rising, fueled by expectations in the defense industry. The stock price of Hanwha, a holding company, was in the upper 20,000 won range earlier this year but traded at around 44,000 won on that day.
There are also analyses suggesting that Kim Ho-yeon moved to organize his equity in the course of succession within Hanwha Group. Chairman Kim Ho-yeon and Hanwha Group's Kim Seung-yeon are brothers. Their late father, Kim Jong-hee, founder of Hanwha Group, passed away unexpectedly in 1981, leading to conflicts over the partitioning of the estate.
A representative example is when Kim Ho-yeon filed a lawsuit against Kim Seung-yeon for the return of inherited property in 1992. At that time, Kim Ho-yeon claimed that Kim Seung-yeon disposed of the inherited property without consulting him, demanding 40% of the inheritance.
The two brothers, who had even gone to court, reconciled only when they met at the 70th birthday party of their late mother, Kang Tae-young, in 1995. That November, Kim Ho-yeon withdrew the lawsuit, putting an end to a legal conflict that had dragged on for over three and a half years. However, their relationship reportedly remained distant afterward.
An industry insider noted, "Considering that Kim Seung-yeon, who is over seventy, and Hanwha Group are preparing to pass on the succession to their three sons, it can be seen that they have timely organized the matters they could arrange. "
Binggrae commented on the background of the chairman’s equity sale, stating, "It is a personal matter, so it is difficult to confirm."