[비즈한국] Hyundai E&C000720 held its 71st Annual General Meeting of Shareholders at the Hyundai Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 25th. New CEO Yoon Young-joon and the first female outside director in the company's history were appointed to the board at this meeting. Entrance to the venue was limited to 50 people, leading to a situation where some shareholders were unable to attend despite arriving on time. The meeting concluded in just 25 minutes with no on-site voting or shareholder questions.
Venue Capacity Limited to 50: Shareholders Watch via Mobile Phone; No Questions, Just "Agreed!"
The capacity for the meeting venue was limited to 50 people. A reporter attending as a shareholder and another shareholder who arrived before the start of the meeting were denied entry. A Hyundai E&C official explained, "Due to COVID-19, we are limiting the number of attendees in the venue to 50." The reporter and the shareholder watched the proceedings on a staff member's mobile phone in a conference room on another floor. Since communication with the main venue was impossible, they did not effectively participate in the meeting. As of the end of 2020, Hyundai E&C had a total of 143,934 shareholders eligible to attend.
In January, health authorities decided to lift restrictions on general shareholders' meetings if quarantine measures were observed. This is because these meetings must be held annually at a specific time (usually March) under commercial law, on-site attendance is inevitable, and failing to hold them could result in serious management disruptions, such as the inability to finalize financial statements or appoint executives. While social distancing level 2 prohibits gatherings of 100 or more people and level 2.5 prohibits gatherings of 50 or more, an exception was made for shareholders' meetings. In response, Samsung Electronics005930 established a system at its own annual meeting—attended by around 900 people—to broadcast the proceedings to a secondary venue separated from the main hall.
Although it was a gathering of shareholders, there was no communication. Every time the chair presented an agenda item, one shareholder raised their hand to voice their agreement, and the other attending shareholders collectively chimed in with shouts of "Agreed!" or "No (objections)." No shareholders asked questions or expressed dissenting opinions during the deliberation. Since the number of votes in favor had already exceeded the quorum, no on-site voting took place. The meeting ended in 25 minutes.
One shareholder who watched from the conference room outside said, "I came from Hanam, Gyeonggi-do. It’s a pity (I couldn't enter the hall), but I understand that's the company's situation. Seeing that they achieved good results and secured many orders despite the difficulties, it’s truly Hyundai E&C."
First Female Outside Director Appointed; Yoon Young-joon Named New CEO
During the meeting, all agenda items—approval of financial statements, appointment of directors, appointment of an outside director to the audit committee, and approval of the director compensation limit—were passed as proposed.
Despite the decline in performance last year due to COVID-19, the company decided to freeze dividends. In 2020, Hyundai E&C recorded 16.9709 trillion won in revenue, 549 billion won in operating profit, and 227.7 billion won in net profit, marking decreases of 1.8%, 36.1%, and 60.3%, respectively. However, the dividend payout was finalized at 66.9 billion won, the same as the previous year. The dividend per share is 600 won for common stock and 650 won for preferred stock. The limit for director compensation for 2021 was also maintained at 5 billion won, consistent with the previous year.
In his address, CEO Yoon Young-joon said, "The COVID-19 pandemic caused global economic and market uncertainty to peak, and the construction industry faced internal and external challenges, including increased regulations and decreased investment. Despite this environment, Hyundai E&C achieved 27.1589 trillion won in new orders, 16.9709 trillion won in revenue, and 549 billion won in operating profit last year, while securing a stable workload with an order backlog of 66.6718 trillion won. In particular, we achieved the highest performance in company history in urban renewal projects, exceeding 5.8 trillion won."
A total of four directors were appointed. Yoon Young-joon, President of Hyundai E&C, and Kim Gwang-pyeong, Head of the Finance Division (Senior Vice President), were appointed as executive directors. Cho Hye-kyung, a professor in the Department of IT Convergence Engineering at Hansung University, was newly appointed as an outside director. Lee Won-woo, Head of the Plant Business Division (Executive Vice President), was reappointed as an executive director. Professor Cho is an expert in robot technology and has served as Senior Vice President of the Korea Robotics Society and a director of the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement. With this appointment, she becomes the first female outside director in the history of Hyundai E&C.
Hyundai E&C appointed President Yoon Young-joon as CEO at the board meeting held immediately after the shareholders' meeting. President Yoon joined Hyundai E&C in 1987 and served as head of the Business Management Office, head of the Construction Support Division, and head of the Housing Business Division. He has achieved significant results in the housing sector, including upgrading the company’s apartment brand and achieving record-high performance in housing maintenance projects.