Family feud presses Korea Inc to cry uncle

Kumho Petro Chemical

17/03/2021 02:19

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are her own.)
    By Robyn Mak
    HONG KONG, March 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A power
struggle between Kumho Petrochemical’s chairman and his nephew
is headed for a shareholder showdown. The dissident’s
Elliott-like playbook already has persuaded the $6 bln company
to improve governance and hike dividends. Winning a board seat
would send a strong message. 
    Full view will be published shortly.
    On Twitter https://twitter.com/mak_robyn
    
    CONTEXT NEWS
    - Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services on
March 12 recommended that Kumho Petrochemical shareholders vote
in favour of all the board’s proposals, including its director
nominees, over rival plans submitted by a dissident investor.
    - A shareholder meeting for the South Korean company is
scheduled for March 26.
    - Kumho Petrochemical has nominated new candidates to
replace five outgoing board members and proposed a total
dividend of 115.8 billion won ($102 million) for 2020, a 180%
increase from the previous year. It also wants to separate the
chief executive and chairman roles and establish an
environmental, social and governance committee.
    - Senior Vice President Park Chul-whan, the company’s
largest individual shareholder and nephew of Kumho
Petrochemical’s chairman, has nominated himself and four other
candidates to sit on the board. He is also calling for higher
dividends, asset disposals and other changes.
    - For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can
click on  MAK/   
    - SIGN UP FOR BREAKINGVIEWS EMAIL ALERTS: http://bit.ly/BVsubscribe

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Kumho Petrochemicals 44th annual general meeting of shareholders
reference material    https://www.kkpc.com/download/?seq=3412
Park Chul Whan press release    https://gobeyondkumhopetrochemical.com/attachments/%5BPress%20Release%5D%20Park%20Chul%20Whan%20of%20Kumho%20Petrochemical%20Proposes%20New%20Governance%20Model_20210311.pdf
 
BREAKINGVIEWS - LG missteps into chaebol-challenge spotlight   
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2IV01E
BREAKINGVIEWS - Korean Air drama risks ending in corporate
tragedy     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2BA2EB
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Editing by Jeffrey Goldfarb and Sharon Lam)
 ((robyn.mak@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
robyn.mak.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))