Hyundai Merchant Marine appoints 2nd CEO

Lee Paik-hoon

By Park Ji-won

Hyundai Group said Wednesday that it had appointed Lee Paik-hoon, the group’s vice president, as co-CEO of its shipping unit Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) to head the firm’s internal management and sales. The current HMM CEO, Lee Seock-dong, will be in charge of the shipping firm’s external affairs.

HMM held a board of directors’ meeting and decided to run the company under the co-CEO structure in an effort to make a breakthrough amid the slowdown in the shipping industry.

“To operate a new phase for the company, we decided to appoint another CEO amid the shipping industry’s prolonged slump,” HMM said in a statement. ``Under the co-CEO system, all employees will make every effort to turn the company around and emerge as an industry leader.’’

From 2012, Paik-hoon served as the vice president and head of Hyundai Group’s strategic and planning development division. He started his career at SK Shipping in 1983 and moved to HMM in 2007.

Meanwhile, the shipping firm decided Wednesday to issue 6.19 million convertible preferred shares to Market Vantage, a Hong-Kong-based investment firm, at 9,690 won per share, in order to raise 60 billion won ($58 million). In June, HMM also issued 6.81 million preferred shares to the Hong Kong company at 8,370 won per share, raising 57 billion won.

The preferred stock issuance is part of the shipping company’s efforts to secure liquidity. HMM said its newly issued shares can be converted into ordinary shares one year after issuance.

In December last year, Hyundai Group announced a self-rescue plan, which seeks to raise a total of 3.3 trillion won by liquidizing assets and attracting investments to improve the financial health of its affiliates.

With the issuance of HMM’s preferred stocks, the group has secured a combined 2.7 trillion won, 80 percent of the capital it planned to raise.

The group disposed of the shipping firm’s liquefied natural gas business along with some of its port facilities, generating 1.2 trillion won in cash. It also sold Hyundai Logistics for 600 billion won.

Hyundai Group plans to sell Hyundai Securities and other financial units to raise more funds.