Hankook Tire has resolved to enhance its shareholder-friendly management including further increasing shareholder value, reinforcing financial solvency and strengthening primary competitiveness through innovation, in its board of director resolution and shareholder letter.

Hankook will buy back its shares to enhance shareholder value. The company says it plans to purchase about KRW 50 billion worth of Hankook Tire shares over the next six months.

The company says it will also sharply expand the size of dividends. For its 2019 settlement, Hankook Technology Group decided on a cash dividend of KRW 350 per share of common shares, sharply expanding its dividend from 2018 when it stood at KRW 300 per share. Also, its affiliate Hankook Tire has decided to pay dividends of KRW 550 per share with the total dividend amounting to KRW 68.1 billion in 2019. This is about 22% increase from 2018, when the dividend per share was at KRW 450 and the total at around KRW 55.7 billion.

In addition, a support organization system exclusively for outside directors and external auditors will be established to enhance transparency of the corporate governance structure, Hankook says. An electronic voting system will be implemented to encourage shareholders to exercise their rights and expand communication with shareholders. In the long term, it plans to strengthen the role of the board of directors and audit bodies to establish an advanced corporate governance structure.

The company also shared its plans to strengthen its primary competitiveness through innovating its business process across all areas, including product development, SCM, marketing and sales. In particular, the company says it will expand investment in the development of tires for new vehicles and other goods, and in strengthening their supply capacity. It says it also plans to achieve sales growth and improve market share and profits by securing additional distribution channels in the domestic and global markets such as the U.S. and Europe.