[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] An absurd incident occurred where Hanwha Life Insurance did not allow shareholders to enter the shareholders’ meeting, creating a situation similar to ‘martial law.’

It is pointed out that this is a clear violation of shareholder rights by preventing shareholders from attending the meeting where the company’s major management matters were explained and approved.

At the shareholders’ meeting held on the second floor of the main building of Hanwha Financial Center 63 in Yeouido, Seoul on March 20, shareholders who appeared to be company employees were seated in advance and other general shareholders were blocked from entering. As if reminiscent of a martial law situation, security guards were stationed at the entrance to the seminar room where the shareholders’ meeting was held, and entry was strictly controlled.

Thanks to this, the shareholders’ meeting proceeded smoothly. The company proposed agenda items such as approval of financial statements, partial amendments to the articles of incorporation, appointment of directors and auditors, and approval of the director compensation limit, and with the cooperation of shareholders who seemed to have arranged it in advance, all procedures were completed in about 20 minutes without a single objection.

A shareholder of Hanwha Life Insurance criticized, “I am reminded of the soldiers who blocked the National Assembly during martial law when bodyguards like gangsters blocked the way,” and “The stock price keeps falling, I can’t receive dividends, and I can’t even attend the general shareholders’ meeting, so I wonder if I am really a shareholder.”

Restricting shareholders’ positions at the general shareholders’ meeting may be a violation of Article 368 of the Commercial Act. The legal community considers that if shareholders were unable to properly express their opinions on site, this constitutes a violation of their rights.

Last year, Hanwha Life Insurance posted a separate net profit of KRW 720.6 billion, up 17% from the previous year. However, it did not pay dividends, and its stock price fell to the KRW 2,600 range, recording the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (PBR) among all financial stocks.

Following the decision by defense company Hanwha Aerospace to increase capital by 3.6 trillion won, which angered retail investors, the Hanwha Group is being criticized for another act that undermines shareholder value.

An industry insider said, "Hanwha Group affiliates are showing behavior that runs counter to value-up in order to ensure the management succession of Chairman Kim Seung-yeon's sons, Kim Dong-kwan, Kim Dong-won, and Kim Dong-sun," and "Hanwha Life Insurance's hiring of a public relations executive from the Dong-A Ilbo and KBS, and the appointment of Lee In-sil, former head of the Statistics Korea under the MB administration, as an outside director and audit committee member are also related to this direction."