[Edaily Reporter kyoungeun kim ] HANJINKAL(1P)(18064K) The stock price continued its upward trend on the 9th, once again approaching the daily price limit early in the trading session. Expectations of a control premium are driving the stock price higher as the battle for control between Hoban Group and HANJIN Logistics Corporation Chairman Walter Cho intensifies.

According to MP Doctor, as of 9:13 a.m. today, HANJINKAL(1P) is trading at 104,700 won, up 24,100 won (+29.90%) from the previous trading day.

HANJINKAL(1P) surged 206.4% in just six trading days, climbing from 26,300 won on October 30 to 80,600 won on the 6th of this month; with today’s additional gains, the cumulative increase is approaching 300%. The stock closed at the daily price limit on the 3rd, 5th, and 6th.

The reason behind this sharp rise is a change in HANJINKAL’s largest shareholder. On the 4th, the combined stake held by Hoban Construction and three other parties reached 20.69%, surpassing the combined stake of Walter Cho and his affiliates (20.58%) by 0.11 percentage points (75,134 shares), making them the new largest shareholder. Chairman Cho also countered this move by signing a contract on the 2nd of this month to purchase 325,000 shares of HANJINKAL common stock at 114,000 won per share (37.05 billion won). Once the transaction is completed, Chairman Cho’s combined stake will rise to 21.07%, regaining the lead over Hoban Group.

However, analysts suggest that speculative buying is also contributing to the sharp rise in HANJINKAL(1P) Preferred shares. Since these are non-voting preferred shares, and with only about 540,000 HANJINKAL(1P) Preferred shares outstanding—a significantly smaller float than that of common shares—the stock is structurally prone to heightened volatility in response to changes in supply and demand. In fact, on the 4th and 5th, trading volumes for HANJINKAL(1P) Preferred shares reached approximately 1.16 million and 990,000 shares, respectively, far exceeding the total number of shares outstanding.

Park Se-yeon, an analyst at HANWHA INVESTMENT & SECURITIES, stated, “Rather than a proxy battle between the two sides, block deal negotiations regarding Hoban’s stake are likely to be the more realistic path,” adding, “In this case, even if a premium is added during the negotiation process, general shareholders may not be given the opportunity to sell at the same price.” It has been pointed out that investors need to exercise caution, as there have been past instances where the stock surged on expectations of a management control dispute only to give up those gains later.