Daewoo Shipbuilding head recommended to stay on for 3 more years

By Kim Kwang-tae

SEOUL, April 19 (Yonhap) -- An independent committee overseeing Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. has recommended that the shipyard's current head lead the company for the next three years, a committee member said Thursday.

The eight-member committee recently reached an understanding to have Jung Sung-leep stay on as head and notified the state-run Korea Development Bank of its decision, he said. The lender is Daewoo Shipbuilding's main creditor.

The committee member did not offer any further details and asked not to be identified because an official announcement of Jung's reappointment has not been made yet.

The committee is tasked with overseeing the implementation of Daewoo Shipbuilding's self-rescue measures.

Daewoo Shipbuilding is set to hold a board meeting Friday where the company's board of directors is expected to endorse Jung's reappointment as the head.

An official handling the issue at the KDB said Daewoo Shipbuilding is scheduled to announce a new president through regulatory filing.

Jung's reappointment is subject to approval in a shareholder meeting set for May 29.

The incumbent CEO, who took his job in 2015, has been credited with turning around the shipbuilder through massive restructuring efforts. The company has vowed to carry out a further restructuring plan worth 1.3 trillion won (US$1.2 billion) this year.

Daewoo Shipbuilding shifted to an operating profit of 733 billion won in 2017 from a loss of 1.53 trillion won a year earlier thanks to massive restructuring. The figures mark the first time that the shipbuilder has achieved a yearly operating profit since 2011.

KDB holds a 55.7 percent stake in the yard, and KEB Hana Bank, a major South Korean lender, is the second-largest shareholder with an 8.4 percent stake as of March 14.

entropy@yna.co.kr
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