이 기사는 2022년 02월 09일 08:08 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Lee Sun-ho, the son of South Korean conglomerate CJ Group’s chairman Lee Jay-hyun, has pledged more of his shares in CJ Corp against loans taken by C&I Leisure Industry, as the falling price of the holding company’s stock has reduced the value of collateral.

In a regulatory filing last week, C&I Leisure Industry said that Lee Sun-ho provided 240,000 preferred shares in CJ Corp on January 28 – worth approximately 17 billion won ($14 million) based on the day’s closing price – as additional collateral for loans taken out by the company.

C&I Leisure Industry is wholly owned by the fourth generation of CJ Group’s controlling Lee family, with the conglomerate’s heir apparent Sun-ho and his sister, Kyung-hoo, holding 51% and 24% stakes in the company respectively at the end of 2020.

The family-owned company, established in 2006, has raised operating funds mostly through loans backed by the Lee family’s personal assets. In November 2008, chairman Lee provided 600,000 shares in CJ Corp as loan collateral for the company. In November 2020, the Lee siblings each provided 12,000 shares in the holding company.

Lee Sun-ho additionally pledged his preferred shares in CJ Corp last month because, with expected rate hikes weighing on the stock market, CJ Corp shares continued to slide this year, resulting in a reduction in the value of collateral.


“(Lee Sun-ho) provided additional collateral after considering the possibility of the stock price going down further,” an official at CJ Group said.

C&I Leisure Industry borrowed a total of 35.9 billion won from Korea Securities Finance Corp at an interest rate of around 2% by using the Lee family’s assets as collateral. The loans represented nearly two-thirds of the company’s total assets of 55.3 billion won at the end of 2020 on a non-consolidated basis.

The company has used the loan proceeds for its offshore wind power project in Gureop Island in Incheon, with an aim to break ground in 2024 and complete the construction in 2025. The project is pending regulatory approvals. (Reporting by Hyo-beom Lee)