[비즈한국] Pacific Industry, a company controlled by Shin Dong-chul, Vice President of Bando Holdings and son-in-law of Bando Group Chairman Kwon Hong-sa, has been found to have had virtually no revenue for six years. Like Bando Group, Pacific Industry was a company heavily reliant on the housing distribution business. With no revenue from its core operations, attention is focusing on the reasons behind this situation.
Pacific Industry is controlled by Shin Dong-chul, the husband of Chairman Kwon Hong-sa's eldest daughter, Kwon Bo-ra. Established in September 1991 with a capital of 1.45 billion KRW, the company initially engaged in housing management and printing before expanding into construction and property distribution in 2003. It has a subsidiary, Pacific Development, which also conducts property distribution.
At the time of its establishment, Pacific Industry was named Bando Gongyeong, and Chairman Kwon Hong-sa held a 100% stake. In December 2009, the company name was changed to Pacific Industry, and the entire stake was transferred to Vice President Shin. Currently, Vice President Shin holds a 99.86% stake, while Kwon Bo-ra holds 0.14%.
Pacific Industry earned distribution revenue of 46.1 billion KRW in 2013, 181.5 billion KRW in 2014, 203.6 billion KRW in 2015, 182.3 billion KRW in 2016, 194.5 billion KRW in 2017, and 14.3 billion KRW in 2018. However, from 2019, it generated less than 500 million KRW in revenue—primarily through rental income—without any distribution revenue, and since 2022, it has become a company with zero revenue. Effectively, the company has not earned a single cent from its distribution business in over six years. Its subsidiary, Pacific Development, has also ceased all distribution business since last year, becoming a zero-revenue company as well.
Nevertheless, the company’s financial structure remains solid due to the wealth accumulated from previous distribution projects. As of last year, Pacific Industry's total capital stood at around 106 billion KRW. Given that it has not been conducting related business for over six years, curiosity is mounting regarding the situation.
Regarding why Vice President Shin’s company, Pacific Industry, is not conducting any separate business, a Bando Holdings representative stated, "We have no comment as we have no relationship with that company."
Meanwhile, in 2020, Pacific Industry entered the entertainment business by acquiring a stake in Ascendio (formerly Kiwi Media Group) for 13.2 billion KRW. Vice President Shin was named CEO of Ascendio and provided funding to the company through capital increases, convertible bonds, and loans until last year. Consequently, industry observers suggested that Vice President Shin might have ventured into a new business due to the general difficulties in the property distribution sector.
Pacific Industry held a 43.94% stake in Ascendio, but began selling its shares abruptly at the end of last year, reducing its holding to 9.92%. As the stake decreased, Pacific Industry lost its status as the largest shareholder, and Vice President Shin stepped down from his CEO position. It is presumed that Pacific Industry has effectively withdrawn from the entertainment business.