Additional 8%… Following Export-Import Bank at 26.4%
The multiple launch guided weapons system “Chunmoo,” displayed at the Hanwha booth during the “Egypt Defence Expo (EDEX 2025)” held in Cairo, Egypt, in December last year (provided by Hanwha Aerospace). 2025.12.1.
Hanwha has additionally secured a stake in KAI, becoming the company’s second-largest shareholder after the Export-Import Bank of Korea.
Hanwha announced on the 16th that Hanwha Aerospace acquired a 6.50% stake in KAI and Hanwha Systems acquired 1.53%. Including the 1.01% held by Hanwha Aerospace USA (HAUSA), the total KAI stake held by the Hanwha Group comes to 9.04%. This makes it the second-largest shareholder after the Export-Import Bank of Korea, which holds 26.41%.
Hanwha Aerospace also convened a board meeting the same day and resolved a plan to invest KRW 500 billion by the end of this year to increase its stake to 9.97% (based on KAI’s closing price of KRW 147,600 on the 15th). If the investment proceeds as planned, the Hanwha Group’s stake in KAI will exceed 12% by year-end.
Hanwha stated, “If the technological capabilities and competencies of the two companies are combined, inefficiencies will be eliminated and synergies will emerge, enhancing the nation’s aerospace competitiveness.”
However, the KAI labor union is opposing Hanwha’s participation in management and its stake acquisition. After Hanwha’s stake in KAI surpassed 5% on the 4th of last month, the KAI union issued a statement on the 7th of the same month, arguing, “If a competing company participates in management, key information such as business strategies, order acquisition plans, and research and development directions will be transferred.”
Lee Won-ju
AI-translated with ChatGPT. Provided as is; original Korean text prevails.
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