이 기사는 2021년 07월 21일 07시55분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

South Korea’s homegrown private equity (PE) firm Hahn & Company (Hahn & Co) is speeding up the formation of Namyang Dairy Products' new leadership.

Namyang will appoint four new inside directors at its temporary shareholders' meeting to be held on July 30, industry sources said Monday. Hahn & Co’s chairman Yoon Yeo-eul, managing directors Kim Sung-joo, Bae Min-kyu, and Lee Dong-chun have been nominated as candidates to serve a three-year term.

They all participated in the management of Woongjin Foods. Hahn & Co acquired Woongjin Foods for 115 billion won ($100 million) in 2013. In the same year, Hahn & Co representatives, including Yoon and managing director Kim Kyung-koo joined the board of directors. Yoon was chairman of Woongjin Foods board. Woongjin Foods made a turnaround in 2014 and is stably generating an operating profit and a net profit.

Lee Dong-chun is highly likely to be appointed as president of Namyang at the board meeting to be held after the shareholders' meeting, with Yoon serving as chairman of the board, according to a source familiar with Hahn & Co.

Namyang also proposed to introduce an executive officer system as an agenda for the upcoming shareholders' meeting. Hahn & Co plans to operate the company under the system where the board of directors and the executive officers coexist, like it did with other companies it purchased.

Yoon served as a non-executive director and chaired the board of directors of Woongjin Foods before Hahn & Co sold the company to Taiwanese food conglomerate Uni-President Enterprises. Lee Ji-ho served as the representative executive officer of Woongjin Foods.

Korean Air Catering and Duty Fee Service (Korean Air C&D), Korean Air Lines’ in-flight meal service unit which Hahn & Co acquired in 2020, also adopted the executive officer system. Hahn & Co representatives, including Yoon, have seats on the Korean Air C&D’s board, with Choi Duck-jin appointed as the representative executive officer last year.

Auto parts maker Hanon Systems, which is currently up for sale, has the similar executive structure. Yoon is chairman of the Hanon Systems board and Hahn & Co's chief executive officer Hahn Sang-won has a seat on the company’s board. Sung Min-suk is serving as representative executive officer.

For Namyang, Hahn & Co is said to be reviewing an option to scout a representative executive officer from outside instead of appointing insiders. The PE firm plans to form the board of directors at the upcoming shareholders’ meeting and hire the right chief executive officer before the deal closing. (Reporting by Gyoung-tae Kim)