Hankook & Company Co. Chairman Cho Hyun-bum will step down from his position as an inside director at the South Korean company’s core subsidiary, Hankook Tire & Technology Co., at the end of March 2024.

The move likely stems from the perception that it will be a burden for Cho to continue serving as an inside director while he is on trial for allegedly providing unfair support to an affiliate.

Hankook Tire announced on Monday that it will remove two items, including the proposal to re-elect Cho as an inside director, from the agenda of the upcoming regular shareholders’ meeting scheduled for Thursday.

The proposal to re-elect Kim Jong-gap, former branch representative at Deutsche Bank Seoul, who was appointed as an external director in 2021 and has served as a member of the Audit Committee member, was also withdrawn.

“We are withdrawing these proposals as some of the candidates have resigned as directors and audit committee members for personal reasons,” Hankook Tire explained in a corrective disclosure.

Cho is stepping down from the board 12 years after his appointment in 2012.

There are some who say that the withdrawal of Cho’s reappointment is not related to the management dispute at the company. Unlike the control dispute over Hankook & Company that erupted at the end of 2023, Cho’s brothers, including Cho Hyun-sik, the eldest son of Honorary Chairman Cho Yang-rae and an advisor to Hankook & Company, have shown no particular movements, such as shareholder proposals, ahead of the regular shareholders’ meeting.

Cho Hyun-bum is currently a suspect in a criminal case. He is on trial for involvement in unfair support by Hankook Tire which was accused of paying a higher price than other manufacturers when it purchased tire molds worth 87.5 billion won ($65.35 million) from its affiliate, Hankook Precision Works Co., from February 2014 to December 2017.

Although Cho is stepping down from the board of directors at Hankook Tire, it is reported that he will continue his management activities while maintaining his position as an inside director at Hankook & Company.

By Moon Gwang-min and Yoon Yeon-hae

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]