[비즈한국] HMM011200 held its 50th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders at its headquarters in Parc.1, Yeouido, Seoul, on March 26, appointing Ahn Yang-soo, former advisor at Shin & Kim, and Park Hee-jin, associate professor at Pusan National University's College of Business, as new outside directors. The company approved all agenda items as proposed, including the appointment of outside directors, amendments to the articles of association, and the approval of the limit on directors' remuneration.
The main point of contention at this shareholders' meeting focused on the restructuring of the board rather than the headquarters relocation agenda itself. With two people appointed to replace the three outgoing outside directors, the HMM board has changed from its previous six-member system to a five-member system, consisting of two internal directors and three outside directors. Immediately after the agenda was disclosed, industry speculation suggested that these appointments might be linked to the future push for relocating the headquarters to Busan.
In fact, at the shareholders' meeting, concerns were raised regarding the independence of the outside director candidates. Some shareholders pointed out that candidate Ahn Yang-soo, a former vice president of the Korea Development Bank (KDB), might be aligned with the interests of the major shareholder, and expressed the view that candidate Park Hee-jin, an academic from the Busan region, could not be seen as separate from discussions regarding the headquarters relocation. The HMM land-based labor union has also protested, calling these appointments a preliminary step with the Busan relocation in mind.
The company drew a line. HMM CEO Choi Won-hyuk stated at the meeting that the two candidates would contribute to enhancing company and shareholder value from an independent position based on their respective expertise. Regarding the criticism that reducing the board size to five members was a move to facilitate a future vote on the Busan relocation, he explained that it is within the scope consistent with the Commercial Act and the articles of association.
No agenda item regarding the relocation of the headquarters was directly submitted at this meeting. However, the labor union raised the possibility that an amendment to the articles of association to change the location of the main office could be discussed at the board meeting in April after the new board is formed, leading to an extraordinary shareholders' meeting in May. Jung Sung-chul, head of the HMM chapter of the Korean Financial Industry Union, stated after the meeting that the union could go on a general strike if the relocation is pushed forward unilaterally, and the union has already scheduled a rally for total struggle on the 2nd of next month.
The reason the board appointments are being viewed so sensitively also lies in HMM's ownership structure. According to HMM's 2025 business report, as of the end of last year, the major shareholders were the Korea Development Bank at 35.42% and the Korea Ocean Business Corporation at 35.08%, with their combined stake totaling 70.5%. Because of this, the appointment of outside directors is being interpreted not merely as board selection, but as a matter connected to the policy direction of the major shareholders.