Financial authorities and creditors of the debt-saddled STX Group are considering seizing the assets of the conglomerate’s chairman Kang Duk-soo.
Creditors agreed to offer STX Corp., the group’s holding firm, bailout funds totaling 300 billion won ($270 million) last Tuesday.
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Kang Duk-soo |
A regulatory official said the STX Group chief should give up his assets if he wanted to see the group attain management normalization.
“His properties including his house could be placed under attachment,” the official said.
While Kang had said he was “ready to do whatever it takes and put up with any difficulties,” the Financial Supervisory Service and creditors stressed that he should follow through on his comments with action.
Over the past week, the state-run KDB and other creditors have been in a series of heated discussions on whether to rescue STX Corp.
While some creditors expressed uneasiness over the bailout, they ultimately reached a consensus after KDB and financial authorities allegedly persuaded them.
They are also scheduled to hold several meetings to finalize their stance on whether to bail out three more STX affiliates ― STX Heavy Industries, STX Engine and ForceTec.
On May 3, STX Group applied for joint management of the four ailing subsidiaries by creditor banks.
Though STX Corp. is the nominal holding company of the conglomerate, it has been regarded as a subsidiary of the group, controlled by chairman Kang.
Kang holds a 9.9 percent stake in STX Corp. and 69.4 percent in ForceTec, which is the de facto owner of STX Corp.
Earlier, Kang handed over his controlling stakes in STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, a core affiliate of STX Group, to creditors.
By Kim Yon-se (
kys@heraldcorp.com)
