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Personal bankruptcy case in Pulmuone family raises questions

March 18, 2013 - 19:53 By Korea Herald
Pulmuone Holdings president and major shareholder Nam Seung-woo is expected to get some 2.2 billion won ($2 million) in cash dividends this year.

Including this year, Nam, who has over 130 billion won in assets including stocks, will have received more than 26.1 billion won in cash dividends over the past 18 years.

And yet, his daughter filed for personal bankruptcy last year, drawing attention to what is happening within the chaebol household.

Pulmuone Holdings is scheduled to vote on paying out a cash dividend of 1,020 won per share at its shareholders’ meeting on March 29, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.

This means Nam, who controls a 57.33 percent stake or some 2.18 million shares, will get 2.23 billion won in cash. His second daughter and his wife will receive 23.5 million won and 8.46 million won, respectively.

Since 1995, Nam has stockpiled 26.1 billion won in cash dividends and has not sold a single share.

The total value of his shares amounts to 109 billion won, based on Friday’s closing price. Nam has served as the company’s chief executive for more than 28 years. The CEO is believed to have even more wealth since he holds stakes in Pulmuone’s affiliates.

Pulmuone is a major food conglomerate with 21 unlisted affiliates. The largest, Pulmuone Foods, commands over 50 percent of the domestic tofu and cooked vegetable markets.

Pulmuone Holdings has a 75.8 percent stake in Pulmuone Foods, and thus gets dividends from the unlisted affiliate.

Some industry observers note that Pulmuone affiliates give out most of their orders to each other.

Orga Wholefoods, in which Nam’s son owns a 30 percent stake, earns between 3.5 billion and 4.6 billion won each year in sales from its affiliates such as Pulmuone Foods, Pulmuone Holdings and Pulmuone Health and Living.

Orga Wholefoods also buys supplies worth between 6.5 billion and 7.1 billion won from its affiliates.

In contrast to the CEO’s abundant cash flow, his eldest daughter filed for personal bankruptcy through law firm Bae, Kim & Lee LLC in May last year.

Her creditor surnamed Chung has filed an objection in court, claiming the CEO’s daughter deliberately filed for bankruptcy to evade liability.

“Nam and her ex-husband Park lied that they were still married and borrowed 4 billion won,” Chung said.

The Seoul Central District Court is currently looking into whether Nam has property stashed away somewhere.

Chung lent 2.5 billion won to Park and 1.5 billion won to Nam in April 2010.

Park and Nam used the money to become major shareholders of a listed electronic integrated circuit manufacturer, of which Park is the CEO.

The company was delisted in December due to embezzlement and breach of trust by former and incumbent CEOs. Nam and Park lost their 4 billion won investment.

A Pulmuone official said the company could not comment on the CEO’s daughter’s bankruptcy as it was a personal matter.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)