Samyang Foods Chairman Gifts Shares to Children, Fueling Succession Speculation

Samyang Foods Chairman Kim Jung-soo, who assumed the top position just four days ago, is gifting 200,000 shares to his two children. The company announced on the 4th that Chairman Kim entered into a contract to borrow a total of 80 billion won from IBK Investment & Securities and Korea Securities Finance, using his shares as collateral, to then gift the shares.

He will gift 171,500 shares to his son, Jeon Byung-woo, who serves as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at Samyang Roundsquare, and 28,500 shares to his daughter, Jeon Ha-young. The gifting is scheduled for July 6th. This transaction is structured as a "burdened gift," a method where the recipient assumes a portion of the donor's debt. This approach lowers the gift tax burden as it is calculated on the value of the asset minus the assumed debt.

Following this transfer, Chairman Kim's ownership stake will decrease from 3.76% (283,488 shares) to 1.11% (83,488 shares). Conversely, his eldest son, Executive Director Jeon Byung-woo, will see his stake rise from 0.59% (44,750 shares) to 2.87% (216,250 shares). This increase makes his shareholding the second-largest among the owner family, after his father, former Chairman Jeon In-jang (3.13%). His daughter Jeon Ha-young's stake will also grow from 0.05% to 0.43%.

The significant increase in Executive Director Jeon Byung-woo's shareholding is interpreted as a move to accelerate the management succession to the third generation of the founding family. Jeon, born in 1994, has rapidly climbed the corporate ladder since joining Samyang Foods in 2019 as a department head in the overseas business division, becoming an executive director in 2025.

A representative from Samyang Roundsquare stated, "This gifting was decided after comprehensively considering compliance with relevant laws and procedures, as well as personal asset planning." They explained that the gift was part of Chairman Kim's long-considered plan to enable Executive Director Jeon, who is involved in management, to contribute with a deeper sense of interest and responsibility towards the company's future growth and value enhancement.

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This gifting was decided after comprehensively considering compliance with relevant laws and procedures, as well as personal asset planning. The gift was part of Chairman Kim's long-considered plan to enable Executive Director Jeon, who is involved in management, to contribute with a deeper sense of interest and responsibility towards the company's future growth and value enhancement.