[Korea Economic Daily] [Exclusive] 3S KOREA Succeeds in Hostile Takeover... Lee & Ko Advises on the Acquisition of Management Rights

June 30, 2025

Korea Economic Daily reported that Korea Wafer Holdings (represented by Lee & Ko) has successfully acquired the management rights of 3S KOREA, the only domestic KOSDAQ-listed Front Opening Shipping Box (FOSB) manufacturer and the 6th largest company by market share in the global market. The article stated, "From the preparation phase of the hostile takeover, Korea Wafer Holdings, represented by Lee & Ko, conducted a detailed analysis of 3S KOREA’s governance vulnerabilities. While the existing management of 3S KOREA actively defended against the takeover for an extended period, they ultimately agreed to a settlement in early June, concluding that further resistance was futile. On June 26, at the regular shareholders’ meeting, all of the individuals nominated by Korea Wafer Holdings were appointed as directors, fully transferring the management control." 

Dajoo Jung, Kyungchun Kim, and Geun Hyung Yoon, attorneys of Lee & Ko who provided legal advice for this case, stated, "It is extremely rare to find a precedent where an attacker accumulates shares in the market to become the largest shareholder and then successfully executes a comprehensive attack to complete a hostile takeover in such a short period." They further noted, "This is especially a rare case where an attacker has acquired the management control of a listed company through a hostile takeover, which will serve as a valuable reference for future hostile takeovers and management rights disputes."