Kumho Tire’s creditors have voted to disallow Kumho Asiana Chairman Park Sam-koo from forming a consortium to raise funds to buy a controlling stake in the tire company, but allowed for the possibility of “revisiting the discussion.”

On Tuesday, Korea Development Bank released a statement saying that the creditors voted down a motion to allow Park to form a consortium with no strings attached. However, the creditors also voted to leave open the possibility of another vote if Park submits a “specific and valid” plan for raising the needed funds within the deadline of April 13.

Park has been requesting that creditors allow him to create a consortium to find the funds to buy back a controlling 42 percent stake in Kumho Tire for 955 billion won ($859.4 million), which is tentatively set to be sold to Chinese tire maker Doublestar.

The stake was handed over to creditors during a debt restructuring deal for Kumho Asiana in 2009, with the caveat that Park would reserve first right of refusal when the stake is put up for sale.

According to a spokesman for Korea Development Bank, a “specific and valid” plan would require Park to be able to come up with the funds on his own with strategic investors, without using company funds.

“For example, we would not allow a consortium that involved the support of Kumho Asiana’s other affiliates,” he said.

In response to the vote results, Kumho Asiana released a statement saying that this was a “self-contradictory decision” that “could not be understood and was not worth consideration.”

“Honestly, there is no way that we can find investors if we do not have confirmation that a consortium will be allowed in the first place,” a spokesman for Kumho Asiana said, stating that the simple possibility of another vote was “meaningless.”

He said that Kumho Asiana has asked KDB for the full version of its original contract with Doublestar, and would decide on whether to move forward with a lawsuit to block the deal once Kumho Asiana has reviewed the contents of the contract.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)