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Hanjin KAL, the holding company of South Korea's largest carrier Korean Air Lines Co., closed sharply lower Tuesday, paring earlier gains on a simmering family feud that investors apparently saw more as a risk than an opportunity.
Hanjin KAL plunged 7.14 percent to close at 42,900 won ($36.86), one day after it spiked 20 percent.
The shares had gained more than 5 percent earlier in the day amid speculations that the family feud may erupt. Investors, however, apparently saw the possible feud as more of a risk.
Foreign investors dumped a net 10.1 billion worth of Hanjin KAL shares, while institutions offloaded a net 46.9 billion won.
Individuals purchased a net 53.2 billion won.
Korean Air also closed lower on selling by foreigners and institutions.
Hanjin KAL preferred stocks, on the other hand, surged 29.94 percent to 61,200 won, nearly spiking by the daily limit of 30 percent in two consecutive sessions.
On Monday, Cho Hyun-ah, former Korean Air chief and the eldest daughter of late Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho, fired a salvo against her younger brother, Cho Won-tae and the group's chief, taking issue with the way his management of the group founded by their late grandfather.
"Hanjin Group is moving away from the late chairman's last words," Hyun-ah said Monday through her legal representative, prompting speculation that she may be seeking the helm of Hanjin KAL and the entire group.
Investors snatched up Hanjin KAL shares on expectations that the founding family members will ramp up the race to take the control of the country's eighth-largest group by assets.
Hyun-ah held a 6.49-percent stake in Hanjin KAL as of end-September, while Won-tae had a 6.52-percent stake.
Even with such a meager difference in stakes, Won-tae took over the group with little or no resistance from his two sisters when their father died in April as Hyun-ah and Hyun-min had been forced to take a backseat in company management due to a series of incidents that led to public uproars.
Hyun-ah was the first to be widely known to the public for the so-called nut rage incident where she ordered a Korean Air flight to return to its gate at a New York airport in 2014 after losing her temper over the way she was served macadamia nuts.
Hyun-min, the youngest of the three, later fell out of favor with the public when she was known to have mistreated her employees, as well as those of the company's suppliers and contractors, once throwing a glass in a business meeting with a partner firm.
She held a 6.47 percent stake in Hanjin KAL as of end-September.
Won-tae has clearly shown that he has no intention of giving up control of the group, insisting the group was moving in exactly the direction his late father would have wanted, and telling his sister to stop causing any unnecessary disturbance.
"Managing a company must be done through due process and under related laws, such as shareholders' meetings and board meeting. We wish the latest controversy will not hurt the stability of the company's management or undermine its value," Hanjin KAL said in a statement released Monday.
With both sides expected to beef up their stakes in the company, others are also on the move.
A local activist fund, Korea Corporate Governance Improvement, on Monday said it has purchased additional shares to increase its stake in Hanjin KAL to 17.29 percent from 15.98 percent.
US carrier Delta Air Lines currently holds a 10 percent stake in the company, with South Korea's National Pension Fund controlling a 7.34 percent stake. (Yonhap)
