Hanjin Group Chair Walter Cho agreed to buy 325,000 shares of Hanjin KAL, the holding company that controls Korean Air, for about 37 billion won ($28 million), a regulatory filing showed on Monday. The deal comes days after construction group Hoban Group told South Korea's antitrust regulator that it may have overtaken Cho's camp as the company's largest shareholder.

Once the shares are delivered, Cho and related parties will hold 21.06% of Hanjin KAL, up from 20.57%, according to The Korea Herald. Cho's personal stake rises by 0.48 percentage point to 6.23%. The shares will change hands through after-hours block trades between Dec. 3 and Jan. 1, the filing said.

For investors in Asia, the contest matters because Hanjin KAL owns roughly 26% of Korean Air, which on Dec. 17 formally absorbs Asiana Airlines to create the country's single full-service carrier. A holding company that cannot name its top shareholder is an unusual position for a group about to fold in its biggest rival and merge its budget airlines.

Who holds Hanjin KAL

The answer is not yet public. Korean Air said on Tuesday it could not confirm whether Hoban had passed Cho, because Hoban has not disclosed how many shares it bought recently, The Korea Times reported. Hanjin KAL said it would set out its ownership structure in a filing within a month, or sooner if the largest shareholder is confirmed.

Hoban's last disclosed position was 20.15% in July, just 0.42 percentage point behind the Cho camp. Further open-market purchases since then led the group to file a business combination report with the Fair Trade Commission last month, on the view that it may now rank first. The commission usually reviews such filings within 30 days but can extend the process by up to 90 days, the Herald said. Hoban went through a similar review in 2022, when its holding first crossed 15%.

Both sides describe their moves in modest terms. A Hanjin KAL official told the Herald that Cho's purchase had been planned well in advance and was unrelated to Hoban's buying. Hoban has said its stake is held for investment, with a group official telling the paper that taking part in management "has never been discussed."

Hoban became the second-largest shareholder in 2022 when it bought out private equity fund KCGI, which had earlier fought Cho for control, and it added 5.85% from shipping company Pan Ocean a year later, according to the Herald. In 2015 the group bid for Kumho Industrial, then the parent of Asiana, before talks broke down over price.

Cho's wider bloc

A narrow lead in raw ownership would not hand Hoban the airline. Delta Air Lines, Korean Air's joint-venture partner, owns 14.9% of Hanjin KAL, and state-run Korea Development Bank, which financed the Asiana acquisition, owns 10.58%. Added to Cho's camp, those holdings exceed 46%, both newspapers reported.

Japan Airlines bought an undisclosed stake in September as the two carriers widened their partnership, describing it as an independent investment based on Hanjin KAL's long-term value, the Herald reported at the time. No filing has shown a JAL holding of 5% or more. The National Pension Service owned 5.11% as of the same report. LX Pantos and GS Retail are also seen as friendly to Cho, according to the Herald.

The bank is the variable most often cited. Korea Development Bank could look to recover its investment once the airline mergers are complete, though investment bankers quoted by the Herald saw little chance it would side against Cho. An industry official told The Korea Times that the bank's eventual exit was a major factor but too early to call.

What comes next

The near-term markers are fixed. Hanjin KAL's ownership update is due within a month, and the antitrust review of Hoban's filing runs on its own 30-day clock unless extended. Korean Air and Asiana combine on Dec. 17, and Cho's block trades begin on Dec. 3.

The first formal test is Hanjin KAL's annual shareholders meeting in March 2027. Hoban holds no board seat and could use that meeting to nominate independent directors, the Herald said. The group's budget carriers are scheduled to combine in the same month, so any board fight would land as the enlarged airline group finishes its consolidation.