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South Korea President Poises New Threat to Doublestar’s Kumho Tire Buy
Date:2017/05/13    Author: -    From: Tire Review

Another roadblock may be in the way of Qingdao Doublestar’s acquisition of Kumho Tire.

Analysts have found that South Korea’s new president, Moon Jae-in, could prevent the Chinese tiremaker from acquiring the majority share of Kumho Tire.

The Korea Times shared that Moon publicly expressed his negative view of the takeover during the South Korean election. He also posted a message to Facebook in March that urged the Korea Development Bank (KDB) to consider job security for the some 3,800 workers employed at the three Kumho Tire plants in South Korea. When SsangYong Motor was purchased by Shanghai Automotive Industry, hundreds of local jobs were lost.

Other analysts have speculated that Moon will not approve the deal unless the Chinese company can guarantee Korean jobs will not be affected and the company pledges to invest in Kumho Tire and respect proprietary technologies, The Korea Times reports.

Additionally, Doublestar and Kumho Asiana chairman Park Sam-koo have still not come to an agreement on the Chines tiremaker using the Kumho trademark. The KDB told The Korea Times that Doublestar wont’ buy Kumho Tire if it can’t use the Kumho trademark.

If Doublestar cancels the deal, Park Sam-koo would gain back his first right of refusal to acquire Kumho Tire.